The Value and Importance of Setting Goals (The Ladies Want to Start a Gas Station in a Place Like Escanaba)

(Illustrative Only)
"The Ladies" are thinking of
starting a gas and repair shop
in a place like Escanaba.
As veterans they know 
how to fix cars and are 
great at understanding 
processes. They
hope to grow their 
gas sation into a chain.

As they focus on their goals of
their first gas station,
it could lead to a successful 
launch of their business and then eventually
buying a second or third.
Goals lead to greater growth
and often more opportunities.

Escanaba is a place that has become
an investment hub and has
relatively low start-up costs
and room to scale. 
While this is just an example
you can check out
Delta County Chamber of Commerce.

 Goals help us stay focused on what we want to achieve, whether they are big and long-term or small and short-lived. They guide our efforts, give us direction, and help us stay motivated even when life gets challenging. Effective goals matter to us personally, can be measured, and are broken down into manageable steps that keep us moving forward. As we grow and change, our goals evolve too, but the process of setting and pursuing them remains essential. While we cannot control everything in life, staying committed to our goals helps us move with purpose rather than drifting aimlessly. A leaf in the wind versus a gliding sparrow that has more control where it goes. Giving up guarantees failure, but persistence creates the path to progress.

Steps for Setting Effective Goals

• Choose goals that matter to you so your effort feels meaningful.

• Make the goals measurable so you can track progress and know when you’ve achieved them.

• Break each goal into smaller steps that can be done daily or weekly.

• Stay persistent, even when obstacles arise.

• Review and adjust your goals over time as your life, priorities, and circumstances evolve.

Goals play an important role in the lives of college students and military veterans. In many cases, these groups overlap—some students are veterans, and many veterans pursue new paths such as starting a business after leaving the military. Setting goals helps guide that process of discovery. You begin by exploring how to start a business, learning the rules, figuring out financing, understanding operations, and following a developmental path that leads from one step to the next.

The same is true in college. If you want to earn a specific degree or pursue a certain career, goals help you stay on track. Even for those who simply love learning for its own sake, the journey is shaped by goals. You take new courses, meet new professors, encounter new ideas, and gradually expand your understanding of the world. It becomes a continuous process of discovery.

Goals are not meant to be easy—they are meant to challenge you. That challenge is what shapes personal growth. The goal gives you a direction, but where you ultimately end up depends on your choices and the environment around you. Along the way, you may grow enough to adjust your goals into something even more meaningful. That evolution could never happen, though, if you didn’t take the first step and keep moving forward.

*Written for a project related to veterans.