With the knowledge of the year 2010 coming to an end, the new year and resolutions patiently wait to see who will tackle their dreams with the arrival of 2011. I honestly love this time of year, as I am a planner and love nothing more than spending hours with a beautiful planner, pen and my dreams. But while the initial goal setting can be romanticized, it is the benefits of achieving our goals that keep so many of us coming back for more goal setting and renewed hope that this time the success will be attained.

In the next few weeks leading up to the beginning of the new year, I will be sharing with you strategies on how to be successful in your goal setting with tips and suggestions that while simple, if consistently adhered to, will render beautiful results.  But first, what are the benefits of achieving a goal?  That is the question we will tackle today. Let’s get started!

Gain a Sense of Control

View it has sprinkling a bit of fairy dust over your life when you achieve your dreams because while there is nothing more fearful than feeling as if you have no control in the path that your future is taking, there is also nothing more powerful than achieving your dreams to instill the belief within yourself that you control your destiny.  The process of setting and achieving goals is a tried and true approach for taking back control of everything that is within your reach.  With each goal that is conquered, the feeling of control slowly returns, thus easing your mind, lifting a burden, uplifting your spirits and an opportunity to choose where you’d like to sprinkle your fairy dusty next.

Elevated Self-Confidence

Becoming a person who sets goals and successfully achieves many of them is like climbing stairs.  With each gradual progression, you are placing one success on top of another.  A foundation is initially built and from there you are better prepared to achieve the next goal that is of a grander magnitude. And since you are standing firming on a dream you now call a reality, the confidence you have in yourself and your abilities will rise like compound interest – gradually at first and then taking off like a mad hatter.

Renewed Energy

No matter how exhausting the journey toward a goal may be, when the finish line is crossed, one’s energy is somehow amazingly replenished.  A burst of adrenaline awakens your exhausted mind due to the trust in yourself that you can achieve what once was a seemingly impossible task. Consequently, by knowing you can depend on yourself to follow through when the going gets tough, your stress levels decrease because you doubt yourself far less.

Increased Optimism

When something wonderful occurs in your life, the burst of adrenaline, joy and exhilaration is hard to contain. For a moment, the world is viewed through rose colored glasses, and this isn’t necessarily all bad.  By taming a dream and making it a reality, one’s optimism is bound to soar. The glass becomes less half empty and a bit fuller, if you get my drift. And while yes, it most likely required large quantities of perseverance, discipline and tears, you now know you can accomplish a difficult task when it is set before you -an earned peace of mind that is priceless.

Become Less Judgmental

Once you have achieved a goal that you have set for yourself, you are able to see the benefits for yourself and the bounty of beauty it can bring into your life.  Upon realizing this for yourself, you are more supportive of those who may need encouragement and also less prone to judge other’s for their shortcomings.  By struggling to achieve something of value for yourself, the fact that energy wasted negatively is energy that could have been used to achieve something positive is more likely to eliminate your desire to talk about people and instead focus on what could be.

So what goals and dreams do you have roaming around in your mind and your heart? Would you like to make them a reality this coming year? If so, click here for part two, as I begin to discuss just how to successfully turn your dreams into your daily reality.

Have a lovely and wonderful Wednesday.