I used to set lofty goals for myself and my team and more often than not, fail miserably. Sometimes, I even forgot about them only a few months after having had what I thought was a successful goal-setting process.
But why?
Because what I was doing was more dreaming than anything else. Humans are generally good at dreaming. Some of us pay more attention to creating a beautiful and inspiring goals document than creating the real-life goal-achieving process; warts and all.
It’s time to identify what could be getting in the way of reaching your goals. Is the culprit the goal itself, or the process?
Here are four areas to look at when trying to identify the problem:
- Lack of Purpose: Your goals must be created to support – not to compete – with your purpose. Evaluate each potential goal to determine how it relates and supports your higher purpose. For example, if you are in the process of deepening your technical knowledge, look for targets that support this. Maybe instead of the goal of nailing the next job interview for a promotion, acquiring additional experience via a lateral transfer is the way to go. Too many people go for the coolest goal rather than the correct goal. This might work but only in the short term. As soon as the coolness factor evaporates, there goes another unattained goal.
- You Forgot About It: Failing to remember why you set a particular goal is a common cause for not achieving the goal. We tend to get so ingrained in the business of day-to-day activities that it becomes easy to forget why we set a goal in the first place. Not knowing why you want something is key to failing. If this is you, refer to reason No. 1 above.
- Not Focusing on What You Want: My experience with clients who have “Chronic Goal Failing” syndrome is that they focus on what they DON’T want. The successful ones always tell me what they DO want. Knowing what you don’t want can help, but don’t make it the center of your goals. For example, it helps to know what you don’t want in a job, but that does nothing to define and create a plan around the position that will bring you what you DO want and what will support your purpose.
- They Seem Too Overwhelming: This happens when the goal appears to be too big, too distant or too difficult to achieve. The feeling of overwhelm can also be a result of not having the skill set necessary to complete the goal or not knowing where to go to get help. When overwhelm strikes we tend to evaluate our future success against our present circumstances.
Overwhelm is a feeling, not a fact, it’s in the eye of the beholder.
The main reason we fail at achieving our goals is not that we don’t set goals – most of us do – it’s that we don’t plan our follow-through.
With the right planning process, these are not real issues at all. Identifying only those goals that support our purpose, focusing on what we want, breaking down our goals into doable chunks and creating daily disciplines are the keys to success. You’ll also have to learn to say NO to activities that will cause a distraction…maybe that can be your first goal.
P.S. This time of year is the best time to think about working with a coach to help you not only set your goals, but to achieve them in 2019. If coaching is the next step for you to move forward this year–let’s chat. Send me a quick note and let’s have a conversation. http://maricarmenpizarro.com/contact-mari-carmen/
