One of the most talked about topics in business and personal motivation is goals and goal setting. I want to give you the truth about goals. This is our take on why some succeed in goal setting while others fail.
Goals don’t mean anything without the desire to achieve them!
You may think this is a ridiculous statement but there’s a lot more to this than most people realize. I used to think that you could sit down, barf out a whole list of great goals and be done. By default they’ll make my life better through a thinner body, more money and better relationships, right? The news here is that it’s not going to happen by just writing them down. Many motivational gurus will tell you that by simply writing down your goals you’re gaining the power to achieve them and it will just happen.
Let’s be realistic, this will work for about 5% of the population. They were probably on track with the motivation part and only needed a little guidance. The other 95% are going to have to work a little harder. Unfortunately, I fall into that 95%!
I want to examine why most goals fail and how you can avoid this failure. It’s going to take some hard work and persistence. Don’t be fooled into thinking you won’t have to work at it. Everything worth having usually takes some work and it’s usually more work than you thought.
Are your goals based in fantasy or reality?
In our 5 signs worksheet we talk about the SMART acronym for goal setting. The ‘R’ in SMART stands for realistic. This means the objective needs to be something that is actually possible. I’m sure you can think of things that would be impossible for you to do. No matter how hard you try you will never be able to hold your breath for 30 minutes underwater. That would be an example of a goal based in fantasy.
What you may not realize is there are emotional or physical limitations holding you back from achieving some of your goals. You’ll need to address the root emotional or physical problem before you can really set out to achieve this specific goal. Most of the time these limitations can be overcome and the goal achieved as long as you realize what it’s going to take to get there. Fix the emotional/physical road block or reset the goal to something more realistic.
It’s not your goal.
There’s nothing worse than working toward goals that really aren’t your own. You might think they are but in reality they belong to a friend or loved one. How many times have you gone along with someone else just to be liked or feel like you belonged? This experience is similar to having a goal belonging to someone else. It may be something you are in fact ‘excited’ about but you’re not in it enough to make it a true goal. It takes a deep commitment to achieve some goals and while your friend can make it look easy, it will leave you struggling and feeling inadequate. In this situation it’s better to be honest with your friend (& yourself) and tell them you support them fully in their goal but you’re going to have to pursue something else. Only pursue dreams and goals you know are really your own.
Sometimes your goals are ones that have been set for you by others. These are dangerous and very difficult to achieve. Sales professionals experience this all the time with sales quotas. Some people can rise to the challenge and blow right through the sales goals. Then what happens? The quota is raised even higher the next period! The sales person should work with their employers to develop their own goals and benchmarks for success.
Another example is pressure put on you from others in a goal you’re not interested in achieving. Mother-in-laws are notorious for wanting grandchildren while the newlyweds aren’t ready or have no desire for children at all. This is an imposed goal the newlyweds should consider avoiding. A talk with mom could be in order.
You never really had the desire to achieve it in the first place.
This falls under the category of ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time.’ Neil and I occasionally suffer from professional or personal ADD. We get excited about something without really taking the time to discover what’s involved and our motivations for doing it in the first place. This leads to flawed goals and the pursuit of something that really doesn’t have passion in our heart. For me this usually involves hobbies or a particular theme in books I’m reading at the time. It’s amazing how much time I’m willing to dedicate to something I’m not all that into.
A cycle of interest in different topics is normal as long as you don’t get in over your head. This means not setting goals related to a topic you’re not really interested in all that much. You may not reach the goal and when you fail it will have a deflating effect on your motivation. This will lead to feelings of inadequacy and failure, making goal setting and achievement even more difficult.
The goal is too lofty with no plan of action.
I’ve always believed that one of the keys to success is having a plan. I’m very organized and approach everything with a deliberate plan of action. I don’t like surprises and I don’t like to be caught off guard. I was only a boy scout for about 4 months in junior high school, but I definitely took ‘always be prepared’ from the boy scout motto to heart.
This is no difference in goal setting. A goal is very difficult to achieve without a plan to get you there. The goal may seem very achievable but as you get started you realize there was a lot more to do than you thought. This is where planning comes in. Lay out a step-by-step or day-by-day plan of how you’re going to achieve this goal. This planning makes the goal bite size and ‘real’ on a daily basis.
It’s easy to see that a goal may be too lofty when you break it down into the daily activities needed to achieve it. You’ll suddenly discover that you won’t be able to lose 3 pounds a day to reach your weight loss goal. Re-visit the goal and make the necessary adjustments to the time needed or the goal itself.
For an explanation of the other 4 letters in the SMART acronym check out www.myfreeworksheet.com. Our 5 signs document is designed to help you decide if it’s really time for you to start your own small business.