I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.
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When building a profitable practice, it’s important to be aware of your goals. Setting goals is important. Before we dig into the journey, we need to revisit the benefits of goals. They are the reason we tend to get up in the morning. They propel us forward and give us a certain frame and function to the day. Think about this: we use micro goals every single day. We get hungry, so we create a goal to have lunch. We run out of new clothes and make another goal to do laundry. At the same time, we use bigger goals to give direction to our lives. A goal for higher education leads us to college. A goal to get married points to a new relationship. Goals do even more than this. Think about these things:
Goals provide direction. Whenever you want to go somewhere new, it’s a good idea to get a map or at least a set of directions to help show you the way. For this reason, we have apps on our phones and in our cars to get step-by-step instructions, including where to turn and how far to travel on a specific road. Goals work much like these maps. They show you exactly where you’re going, which in turn defines the steps you need to get there. No more wandering about aimlessly. For example, say you know you want to be in accountant. This goal then defines the kind of school you need to attend and the course of study you need to pursue.
Goals motivate you. Whenever you think about your goal, you probably feel a certain excitement about what you’re doing. This excitement will drive you to jump through whatever hoops you need to achieve your dreams. This same excitement will keep you motivated when you feel discouraged, are having doubts, or just plain tired from pursuing your goals. Motivation is what keeps you going. Without it, your goals will unlikely be met.
Goals boost productivity. When you don’t have goals, you tend to drag in what you’re doing. Just ask anyone who has ever stocked shelves at a supermarket. The task can be pretty mindless and even feel pointless if all you’re doing is taking canned goods from boxes and shoving them on the shelf. Oddly enough, the moment you turn this task into a goal- for example, emptying a pile of pallets- you’ll find you work a little faster. Even make little competitions with yourself to see how long it takes. Goals always give us emphasis, which leads to better productivity with a bonus of more satisfaction at work.
Goals improve self-worth and confidence. Whenever you achieve a goal, you can’t help but feel better about yourself. After all, you just did a thing. The very fact you did this thing also breeds confidence. You now know you’re capable of doing this particular thing. Go you! This is why runners measure the distances they run. While running can feel good, it’s even more amazing when you know you’ve hit a particular milestone, such as completing your first 5K.
Goals allow you to prioritize what’s important. Sometimes you get so bogged down by life, you just don’t know which way to jump next. There’s nothing more confusing than a to-do list where everything seems equally urgent. Knowing which task will pull your goal forward, helps you determine which one should probably be done first. When creating your to-do list, keep your goal in mind so that you can easily prioritize your tasks in order of importance.
Goals help you make decisions. Does everything you do push your goals forward? Probably not. We wind up with a lot of clutter in our days. Most of it put there by someone else. The nice thing is, you can quickly decide whether you should say yes or no to a new project by asking yourself one simple question: does this request do anything which will enhance my goal? If not, it’s a lot easier to decide to say no. When you give your time and energy only to things that will propel you towards your goals, you reach them a lot quicker.
Goals give you control of your life. Without goals in life, you’ll find yourself easily caught up in the whims of other people. This can be fun if you like to go with the flow, but annoying if you have your own dreams. By turning your dreams into goals, you now have the power to take control of your situation. You’ll know what’s important and even how to prioritize what you wish to get done. In short, you’ll have full control over your life with nothing happening, which is not intended. Goals give you a sense of purpose.
Without goals your days can take a certain sameness. Work is part of the same old routine. At home, you find your hours filled up with aimless pursuits. Goals change all this by giving you a framework for your life. You gain a sense of purpose as you work to make your dreams a reality. Life suddenly looks more interesting.
As you can see, goals are incredibly important to have. But are they how you want to measure your success? Do you want your life to be nothing more than the relentless pursuit of one goal after another? What if goals, as important as they are, turned out to be irrelevant after all?
I am Dr. Hassan, Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own independent practice so that they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. Please go to businessofrehab.com/guide to pick up the free guide to help you determine the best business entity for your new practice.
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It’s important to set clear, attainable goals. Check out our blog here for tips on how to clarify your goals.
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Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com
