Posted on Monday, December 23, 2024

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by Outside Contributor

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Years ago, while studying for my master’s degree in human behavior, I became deeply intrigued by the concept of personal goal setting and how important it is for people to have goals simply in order to stay healthy. What I learned changed my life.

Human beings are, by nature, goal seekers. We are the only living creatures who can look into the future and project images of ourselves. Within the context of every other living creature, even the simple act of scheduling a lunch meeting for next week or planning a family get-together is an amazingly complex and miraculous task.

But our teleological nature goes far beyond that. Just ask the doctor who “wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember.” Or anyone else whose childhood dream to pursue a specific career came true. What these examples show is that if you create visions of yourself cast into the future, you will naturally be drawn toward those visions, usually until they become true.

This is one of the reasons why one of the most important steps in goal setting is to create positive, present-tense affirmations of yourself having achieved each of your goals. Then, repeat these affirmations over and over until the goals become reality. The more vividly you can have your subconscious mind visualize you in your desired goal state, the more likely you will be to achieve that state (accomplish your goal) sooner rather than later.

Interestingly enough, not having clear goals can create problems for people when they retire. Far too often, when people stop working, they think that they’ve achieved their life’s purpose, so there’s “nothing left to do.” Thus, they are left basically directionless and without a sense of purpose for this chapter in their life.

The data tells us that individuals who lack purpose and direction tend to have worse health outcomes and die sooner than those who have a sense of purpose. Those without goals tend to wander aimlessly for a time and have less fulfilling life spans than people who continue to set goals for themselves.

It’s important to know that the goals we are talking about here are not simply work-related. They could be family-related, travel-related, recreational, spiritual, or even learning-related. The important thing is to have exciting milestones to look forward to in the future. For many people, this is their “bucket list.”

Setting goals and defining purpose isn’t hard work. But for some reason, it’s one of those activities that is difficult to get started with if you haven’t already made a habit of goal setting. However, once you set goals, the satisfaction is both immediate and long-term.

Early on during our 55-year marriage, my wife and I made goal setting an important part of our relationship. It has not only made our lives and relationship more fulfilling, but it has also led to us accomplishing much more with our lives than we would have otherwise. It has made our transition into retirement much smoother and more fulfilling. Defining goals and purpose can do the same for you.

It’s never too late to start. The most important thing is to outline an annual process and stick to it. We start each year by discussing possible goals for the next year during the week following Christmas, leading up to New Year’s. Instead of writing New Year’s resolutions, we write our list of goals for the upcoming year (and sometimes beyond). We set goals for our relationship, family, finances, home improvement, travel, learning, health, service to others, and just about anything else you can think of – even our spirituality.  

Then, we print out the list of goals and post them where we will see it almost every day.

On or around the Fourth of July, we review them to assess our progress, make changes, and update whatever is necessary. At year’s end, that goal list becomes the starting point for next year’s goals when we restart the process the week after Christmas.

Research has repeatedly shown that goal setting may be even more important in retirement than earlier in life. If you don’t already do something to create and maintain a clear sense of purpose for this chapter in your life, now is the time to start. The dividends will be plentiful.

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.