Why is it important to write down our goals?
If you just think about your goals, then you are only using part of your brain: the right side, or your imaginative cognition. If you write it down, then you are connecting it to the other side of the brain that signals you mean business to make the goal happen.
Does the act of writing it down alone mean it will happen? Of course not! We still have to do the work. However, writing down your goal provides you a significant step forward in achieving it.
In an article I read by Mary Morrissey she noted that a study done by the Dominican University in California discovered that people who wrote down their goals were 42% more likely to achieve them.
Morrissey challenged her reader to do an experiment for the next 7 days. Each morning start your day by writing down goals in four areas:
- Health
- Love & relationships
- Vocation
- Time & money freedom
What can you expect to gain from this experiment? You can gain clarity around what goals truly matter to you, and the act of writing them down will drive your behavior cognitively to do the activities to reach the goals. It also provides daily awareness of the opportunities that come before you to help you achieve your goals.
A goal that is not written down is a dream. Some dreams can come true, but more often than not, dreams stay as dreams and never get realized.
Cheers to achieving your goals!
Mike