The Importance of Goals

The Importance of Goals – Find your why

Welcome back to the Mortgage Mindset Blog.  With no blog last week.  This week we focus on the importance of Goals. 

The three Mortgage Terms for this week are:

1)    Gross Debt Service Ratio (GDS):  All of the debts associated with the mortgage.

2)    Total Debt Service Ratio (TDS):  All of the other debts you have, including credit cards, other loans including car loans etc.

3)    Guarantor:  A person who establishes a credit rating, sufficient earnings, and agrees to pay the loan if the borrower does not.

Goals are crucial in cultivating a winning mindset.  It doesn’t matter what you are working towards.  Without having a concrete goal in mind, you will fall short of your expectations.

Whether it is work related, health related, or simply general life related, goals are important, it doesn’t matter what you are trying to improve you need a goal.

Everyone claims they want to be better.  If I asked you, what are three things you want to improve about your life I am sure you wouldn’t have to think too hard to come up with some answers.  Whether its wanting to be healthier, to have more balance, or to earn more money, it doesn’t matter what it is, there is something there.  Where most people fall apart is that they want to reach the end-point without having set goals, and milestones on the way to getting there.

This is why goals are so important.  Setting a goal, and saying “I want to lose 50 pounds,” or “I want to only work 4 days per week,” or I want to earn $150,000 per year,” is more specific and something to hold yourself to.

Here are some tips that I have found that helped me in my journey to achieve my goals.  This doesn’t mean that they will work for you, just simply that they have for me.

1)    Have a clear action plan.  Right now, there are two major things I am working on in my life.  First and foremost is of course my career as a Mortgage Agent, but I am also trying to lose weight.  The first thing that I do for each of these things is set goals.  Both long term goals, and short-term goals.

The short term goals keep me motivated to reach the long term goals that I want to keep.  This is the number one recommendation that I can make.  Having a short-term goal can make the world of difference when the times get rough.  Here’s an example.  I am currently writing this on a Friday evening at 8:02 pm after working all week.  That is because one of the most crucial things that I know works when getting your career or business off the ground is sticking to it.

I remember listening to a podcast…I don’t remember which one, but on the podcast, they were saying that the majority of podcasts fail because they don’t make it past 10 episodes.  People do things because they are initially fun, and they sound like a good idea.  Then when the work sets in, and they have to plan time to produce the content they fail.  This is what it means to keep going.  Setting a short-term goal of hitting 10 episodes, you can work towards that and keep going. 

My goal for this blog is to help others, but also keep myself accountable.  It is sort of a weekly journal that I keep about how I am trying to better my life.  I am setting this goal now.  I want to upload a blog post, no matter how short for the next ten weeks in a row starting on Wednesday July 12, 2023.  This is an achievable goal, that I know I can hit, and will keep me motivated to keep working.

That is the second piece of advice. 

2)    The goals you set have to be realistic.  You can set goals, but if it is not reasonable for you to achieve them with everything else that you already have going on in your life, then it doesn’t matter that you set a goal because you will likely not see the mindset boost from the success of hitting that goal.

This is what is most important.  People talk about the big dreams that they have, but they don’t talk about the process that it would take to get there.  This is the most important part of achieving your goals.  Small realistic improvements, based on realistic smaller goals.  If you achieve your smaller goals, the path to your larger goals will seem easier to hit.

3)    Don’t forget why you are building.  Setting goals can be great, exciting, and challenging all at once.  Those challenges, the challenging days, the moments when you feel like giving up your why can drive you on.  Keeping you on the path you know you should follow.  You can set all the goals you want, but without a reason to achieve them – no matter what that is – they do not matter.

Each person will have a different reason for why they have the goals they have.  It doesn’t matter what that is for you.  Goals without purpose are dreams.  Dreams are not real.  They are hope.  Hope can be useful, it is always a good thing to have.  However, you need a purpose.  Without a purpose, dreams, goals, they do not matter.

Whatever your why is, the best thing you can do is find it, and work for it.  Build your entire life around it.  It needs to be your rock. The last line of defense in maintaining the focus on your goals.  For each person this will be different.  It can be building a life for your family, working to buy something, or even to find your peace, whatever that may be.