13 Reasons People Who Don't Set Goals Always Fail In Life

Why bother setting goals?

A man in a suit sits at a desk, looking thoughtfully at crumpled paper in his hands. More crumpled papers are scattered on the desk. A whiteboard with graphs is in the background, suggesting a work or office setting.

Do they really make a difference?

Will they make your life better?

If you are asking these questions, you probably have your doubts about the importance of goal setting, and perhaps you’re not even bothering to set them.

But we’re here to tell you that’s not a good idea if you want to actually achieve the thing you desire, whatever that may be.

Here are 20 reasons why ignoring goal setting will doom you to a life of failure.

1. Without goals, you don’t know what you really want.

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Only when you know what you want to achieve can you make that your goal or objective. So if you’re not setting goals, chances are you don’t actually know or understand what it is you truly want out of life.

When you sit down to think about the types of goals you want to set, you are forced to consider what truly matters to you.

This process is very revealing. You are required to look inward at your core values and identify specific aims that are in accordance with those values.

When your goals and your values aren’t in harmony, you’ll be living a life of inner conflict that’s doomed to fail.

2. Without goals, you’ve got no roadmap.

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A life without goals is one of aimless wandering. Some people may find this an adequate or enjoyable way of living, and that’s okay.

But if there’s something in particular you hope to achieve, you need a little direction to follow.

Goals provide this direction.

When you have a goal, it requires you to figure out a way to go from where you are now to where you’d like to be.

A goal is your destination and it’s up to you to find the most appropriate way of getting there.

And once you have that roadmap, it helps you to make adjustments to your actions should you begin to veer off course.

3. If you don’t have goals, you don’t have hope.

A person wearing a dark hoodie stands against a tiled wall with hands in the hoodie pockets. Their head is down, and the hood is up, partially shadowing their face, creating a contemplative or somber mood. The wall they lean against is dark and slightly reflective.

Goals are aspirations. They are visions of the ways in which our lives might be made better. Without them, life can feel a bit pointless and hopeless.

Hope is one of the most incredible feelings. It inspires and energizes, and it makes any hardship we currently endure seem less permanent.

Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps us taking forward steps to reach it.

Hope for a better future is responsible for many of the advancements in humanity and it can have an equally important role to play for the individual.

Without hope, what is the point of anything?

4. Things seem less achievable without goals to break them down.

A woman sits on a couch, holding her head in frustration while looking at a laptop. She wears a white shirt and a necklace, and light from a window filters through sheer curtains in the background.

One of the ways in which goals can give us hope is by taking something that seemed out of reach and making it a real possibility.

Remember, goals help you to identify a route from A to B, so without them, you’ve got no route to follow.

Without them, a better future seems to difficult to achieve.

Without them, your hopes and dreams can seem like an impossible mountain to climb. With them, they turn into a less daunting hill.

5. Without goals you’re less likely to take the necessary action.

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Success comes when action is taken.

You have to do things in order to change your current situation and move toward your preferred situation.

When you have a clear and manageable goal, it spurs you on to take action. Without this, you’re just dithering.

The very first step can only be taken when you know where you are headed. Otherwise, you may end up going in the wrong direction.

So not only do goals lead to action, they lead to the right kind of action.

6. Without goals, you’re just dreaming.

A woman with curly brown hair rests her chin on her hands, which are placed on the back of a bus seat. Sunlight streams through the window, casting a warm glow on her face as she gazes thoughtfully outside.

Dreams and goals are often confused, but they are slightly different things.

Dreams can provide some of the things that goals provide, but they are rather distant and not all that real.

Goals are dreams that have been fully formed through careful thought and consideration.

Goals are far more specific. They contain detail. They hone in on the most important aspects of a dream and crystallize them in your mind.

Dreams are as much a feeling as anything else. They are what we long for.

Goals are not feelings. They are places. Goals are destinations that we intend to reach, not just think about.

7. You’re more likely to get distracted without clear goals.

A young man wearing a green hoodie is sitting on a couch, playing a video game with a controller. Next to him, a young woman with curly hair, wearing a striped shirt, is reading a book. They appear to be in a cozy living room setting.

When you have a clear goal in mind and you have developed a roadmap of how to achieve it, you can steer clear of things that might pull you off course or slow you down.

When something comes along that has the potential to consume your attention, you can ask whether it is helping you to achieve your goal.

If it’s not, you can choose to ignore that distraction and maintain focus on the actions that will take you a step closer to your ideal endpoint.

Without a goal to work toward, you will be easily swayed by the lure of immediate gratification. Your focus will not be on those things that might improve your life.

8. If you don’t set goals, you aren’t prioritizing what’s most important to your success.

A woman with long hair is looking concerned, standing close to several brightly colored sticky notes which are suspended in the air in front of her. She is wearing a yellow top and hoop earrings, with a blurred background.

There are often many things that can propel you in the direction of your goals. But some tasks or actions are more important than others.

Without breaking your ultimate aim down in to smaller goals, it can be hard to see which steps are the most important.

Without goals you don’t maximize your effectiveness by sticking to the things that matter most.

9. Without a measurable goal, you can’t judge whether you are succeeding.

A man with a beard and glasses wearing a red sweater and a gray flat cap looks over his shoulder while standing on an empty road lined with trees. The background is slightly blurred, giving emphasis to his facial expression.

Goals provide an opportunity to judge how far you have come.

Without them you can’t measure the changes you have achieved so far or calculate how far you have left to go.

This is a problem, because having this knowledge can keep you on track, give you an idea of timeframes, and keep you motivated.

For example, if you need to save $20,000 for a deposit on a house, measurable goals help you take stock on a monthly basis to see how much you’ve managed to save.

You can use this information to adjust your lifestyle if you aren’t on track to meet your goal by your deadline.

10. Goals prevent you from wasting time.

A person wearing glasses and a plaid shirt sits at a desk, looking at a laptop. They rest their chin on their hand, appearing thoughtful. A glass of water is nearby, and a bright window curtain is in the background.

Time is precious. Once gone, it can never be got back.

With no direction to follow, your time is not well managed. You are more likely to spend it on things that do not provide value to you in terms of well-being or enjoyment.

A goal focuses the mind and keeps you doing things of importance that will help you to grow as an individual.

Goals alone can’t prevent procrastination, but they do help.

You are more likely to choose to spend your time productively if you know that it will contribute to a better future for you.

11. Without goals, you are unaccountable.

A woman with her feet on a desk is playfully holding a paper airplane. She has long brown hair, wears a green shirt and gray pants. On the desk are headphones, a notebook, a pen, a glass of water, and a potted plant in the background.

A vague desire to achieve something is just that: vague.

It is not enough to make you take responsibility for turning that desire into action.

A goal goes beyond a desire. As discussed above, a goal is more concrete and detailed and setting one holds us more accountable for our actions.

The choices we make – both big and small – have to be taken more seriously. Goals make us more aware of the cause and effect of the things we do.

We realize that life doesn’t just happen to us. We play an active role in how things pan out.

12. If you don’t set goals, you’ve got less things to celebrate along your journey.

A young woman with long blonde hair is standing against a light blue background. She is smiling widely with her eyes closed and her fists clenched, expressing joy and excitement. She is wearing a beige sweater and a watch on her left wrist.

When we achieve a goal, we recognize it and celebrate our success. This gives us the motivation to keep going.

Without this celebration, it can be hard to keep focus because we may feel like we’re not really getting anywhere.

Celebrations don’t even have to be external. They can simply be the warm glow of satisfaction at changing your life for the better.

13. Without goals, you don’t have a “why.”

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