Why Should I Set Personal Goals?

While I was sitting around this morning I was thinking about my life. I was thinking about my plans and my [tag] goals [/tag]. Where do I want to go? Where am I at on my [tag]personal goals[/tag]? Do you ever think about this kind of stuff? It really challenges me when I see what my goals are and where I am in relation to those goals. I’ll tell you that I am no expert in this type of thing, but what I can tell you is my view and how I handle it in my own life.

The 4 areas in my life that I set goals for:

1) Financially
2) Physically
3) Relationally
4) Spiritually

When setting goals, I always look at the big picture first. I’m a Z to A kind of a guy. I like to look at the finished product and work backwards. Here are my financial goals. My main goal is the first one; the other goals are the sub goals that will get me to my main goal.

My [tag]financial[/tag] goals:

1. Have a net worth of $1,000,000 within 9 years
2. Within 5 years, grow my real estate investment firm to generate an income of $150,000 per year.
3. Within 3 years, grow my other, smaller business (including this blog) to generate an income of $100,000 per year
4. Within 3 years, have a total household gross income (between me and my wife) of $350,000 per year
5. Within 1 year to personally purchase 2 investment properties with positive cash flow
6. For the next 9 years contribute $100 per month into my Roth IRA account. This would amount to approximately $1.25 million at retirement.

My [tag]physical[/tag] goals:

1. To work out 3 times per week.
2. To actually stay on my diet of no more than 1500 calories per day until I reach my target weight loss of 20 pounds
3. To eat out no more than 2 times per week (I love big greasy burgers)

My [tag]relational[/tag] goals:

1. To go on at least 1 date night per week with my wife
2. To maintain my current friendships by having lunch with at least 1 friend per week
3. To have a constant mindset of establishing new friendships

My [tag]spiritual[/tag] goals:

1. To have daily time with God every morning before I leave the house
2. To read through the entire Bible in one year (I’ve done this one before, except it took me about 2 1/2 years)
3. To memorize one scripture per month (I am terrible at remembering things)

So there they are. I feel a little exposed being so transparent for the world to see, but hopefully it will help me to stay on track as I am sort of accountable to you now.

Posting this fulfills two of the key elements of goal setting:

1. Write down your goals and put them in a place where you will see them every day (Yep, done)
2. Share your goals with someone who can hold you accountable (Got that one too)

Do you have any goals? If so, what do you do to keep you on track? If not, then why don’t you have any goals set? Leave me a comment and let me know.

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