Regardless of their size, goals eventually appear and will appear for those who put them down on paper, but the keyword is eventually. No, it doesn’t happen suddenly, but if you put effort, consistency, and passion, they will be accomplished ultimately.
There’s no doubt about it – when you write down your goals, you create the conditions that allow for progress to be made. And this is fundamental. When there’s physical proof of a goal, a dream, or a thought you want to perform, it pushes you actually to get it done.
Here are 3 solid reasons you should start writing down your goals for this year, 2023.
- Increases Your Motivation
When you write down your goals, your motivation to achieve them increases. One of the primary reasons you’ll experience increased levels of motivation is related to self-accountability. Self-accountability happens the moment you commit your intent to reach an objective on paper. When you put pen to paper, it’s as if you’re subconsciously giving yourself a command. And anytime you aren’t doing things your subconscious mind knows it should be doing, you’ll start to feel the pressure of what your mind subtly suggests you do.
- Improves Your Recall
When you start writing down your goals, you embed them deeply into your mind. This is important because when your goals get strongly embedded into your mind, they become easier to recall. Scientists call it the “generation effect.” It’s basically a fancy name for the fact that if you generate something out of your own mind (like a goal), vs. remembering some vague interest or desire, you’ll be quicker to remember your goal over that vague desire that was induced by something you read, watched, or learned about from someplace else.
Goals better remembered are goals better achieved.
- Makes You More Likely to Achieve Your Goal
That’s the answer we are looking for, right? The question is: what are the chances of actually achieving my goal? Well, Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University of California, confirmed you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by writing them down.
Matthew’s sample group included men and women, ages 23 to 72, from around the world and all walks of life: Entrepreneurs, educators, healthcare professionals, artists, lawyers, and bankers.
She divided the participants into two groups: Those who wrote down their goals and those who didn’t. The results were clear: Participants who wrote down their goals achieved those desires at a significantly higher level than those who didn’t.
In fact, she found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams simply by writing them down on a daily basis.
In other words, write down your goals because even science backs it up!
We are fairly starting in 2023, and this is an excellent chance to write down your goals, create a plan, and have yourself accountable for achieving them before the year ends.
You may also like: My 2023 Decalogue of Success.
