Goals Setting - The Way To Financial Independence!

Goals Setting - Is it really important? Why bother about it at all? Well, the fact is - those who set the right goals tend to be more successful than those who does not. To achieve financial freedom, we have to go into the process of goals setting .

What does it have to do with a subject on personal financial planning? Plenty actually.

Personal financial planning is part of personal management in all areas of a person's life.

But first and foremost, often times, it means having the right goals to get rich first. There is really nothing wrong with this. And it is actually a worthwhile objective, for being wealthy does fulfill many worthwhile dreams.

Thus in order to reach financial independence, setting goals is important. Achieving them is just as important.

Write them down. Commit them to memory and review them frequently.

You want to be rich? Then practise goals setting and have proper personal financial planning. Such target setting allow dreams to crystallise and materialise.

It been said the difference between millionaires and billionaires lie in the fact that millionaires read their goals once a day while billionaires read their goals twice a day.

Nobody knows if this is scientific fact, but there is a lot of truth in that.

Goals setting is quite similar to dreaming and imagining. And there is nothing wrong in dreaming. However, dreams without action remain a dream. To take action, the best way is to commit your goals setting in writing and take action.

There is something magical about setting goals in writing. When you commit your dreams to writing, you hold yourself accountable. And when you have accountability, results show.

Something magical happens within our brain when we go about setting goals in writing. We start looking for opportunities which help accomplish them. We are more conscious of these opportunities, and our efforts are much more focused. Try it. You will be surprised at the results. If you want financial independence, there is no escaping from goals setting. This is fundamental to personal success.

Actually there is nothing magical about goals setting. It is in fact very scientific. It is called Recticular Activating System (RAS). Well I am not a doctor, nor am I a scientist. But as long as it works for me, it is good enough. I think the same should apply to most readers too.

So how do we start the process? Much can be written on this subject itself. But here's a quick guide.

- They should be specific

- They should be quantifiable and measurable

- They should be realistic and achievable

- They should be written (as mentioned before)

- They should have a deadline, or timeline

This means that you should be specific and be very clear of what you want. Only then can you focus your energies on them until they are achieved.

Think of the laser and compare it to the light bulb.

Both the laser and light-bulb use the same energy source. But the laser is focused and can cut through even steel, whereas the light bulb will not be able to do the same.

Again, they need to be measurable - otherwise you will not know whether you've actually achieved them. In many cases, the measurement may be in the amount of money and wealth to be accumulated as in the case of financial planning.

However, certain objectives may be difficult to measure. For example, how do you measure physical health and fitness?

For such cases, you may measure the ideal body weight to be achieved or the number of times that you exercise every week.

That they should be realistic and achievable will mean setting goals that can be achieved with reasonable effort. It is of not much use setting lofty goals that cannot be achieved.

Having said that, it still does mean that you need to stretch your potential and not just keep to your "comfort zone".

There is something magical about writing down your dreams as mentioned and it must have a deadline. Working without deadlines would be like sailing on a boat without direction and not knowing where to go.

Some people may say that deadlines are not good. But are you able to think of any business organisations that do not work with deadlines and are not accountable to their business results for the business year.

Basically, the issue here is accountability.

Without deadlines, there is no accountability. Without accountability, you will not take responsibility for your financial success.

In essence, in most cases, goals-setting is personal to one-self and should be treated as such. In most cases, it is advisable not to reveal your personal goals to other people, except your most supportive and close family members.

Often times, well-meaning people may give advice which are detrimental to your dreams and financial well-being.

Don't give in to "dream-snatchers" and don't let other people's opinion dictate your opinion of yourself. Remember, you are setting goals to achieve your own dreams, not someone else's.

On a side note - most people start with financial goals. There's nothing wrong with that. Money does help achieve a lot of other things! In essence, it is a matter of getting wealthy enough so that dreams can be fulfilled.

At this point, I thought I'd recommend some resources which help in this aspect of getting wealthy. Getting rich and achieving financial independence is often a worthwhile goal. Go check out the resources on the previous link. See if you find them useful. There is a simple reason and the reason is this.

Back already? Good!

Now for the next principle... Building Financial Security for yourself and family.