In high school you learned either through a motivational speaker, teacher or some book that you should set goals. So with the limited knowledge that you had you might have set a couple of goals with a favorable expectation that those goals would be accomplished. But, did they? Upon graduating high school and while passing through college you may have been reintroduced to the idea of goals only to give the writing of goals another try. So again you set out to achieve a couple of goals but did you accomplish what you set out to achieve?
I am sure that you have set and achieved at least one goal in you lifetime but have you been able to consistently achieve that which you have sought after? If writing down goals in the key to achievement, why have you not been able to consistently accomplish what you have written? If you have written down your goals but have not found the achievement that you sought then one of two things is true, either you are doing something wrong or writing down goals simply doesn’t work.
Harvard did a study that proved roughly 5% of there college graduates had goals written down with deadlines attached. The end result of the study showed that the 5% who wrote down their goals with deadlines had an accumulative net worth that was greater than the accumulative net worth of the 95% who did not write down their goals. Per Harvard writing down goals works. Therefore, let’s look at 3 potential problematic areas that occur when setting goals:
3 Potential Problems in Goal Setting
- You Don’t Really Want What You Say – When setting goals do not compete with someone else, write down what you believe that you can have. If your friend is making $60,000 and you believe that you can increase you salary to $45,000 then make that your goal. Competing with others will only add frustration to your life. Make the goals within your field of passion and you will find success so much sooner.
- Too Vague – Goals such as, “I want to be a success; I want to make more money; I want to lose weight; I want a closer relationship with God” are too vague and cannot be measured. The problem with these goals is that you never know when you succeed. Instead of “lose weight” write I have lost 10 pounds or “closer relationship with God” write I spend 1 hour with God everyday.
- Unrealistic Time Frames – There is no such thing as an unrealistic goal, only unrealistic time frames. Making a million dollars is not an unrealistic goal; making a million dollars tomorrow is (for most people). Meaningful goals take time to come together so plan accordingly.
So after you have written down crystal clear goals without competing with others and have allowed for the adequate time does this mean that you goal will come to pass? Of course not! Why? Because you have to “Do Something!” Goals will not achieve themselves. The only difference between “try” and “triumph” is just a little “umph.” Now that you have guided the energy of your mind, it is time to guide the energy of your backside. ☺ In my observation I have found that in order to achieve any goal you have got to overcome these 3 obstacles:
3 Obstacles When Pursuing Your Goals:
- Getting Started – I am sure that you have a friend who is always coming up with the next greatest idea but their idea never seems to get out of the talking phase. They talk about wanting a new job but do not fill out the application, they talk about losing weight but never purchase the gym membership or they talk about saving money but do not put a plan of action in place to do so. You cannot turn a parked car nor can you achieve a goal, written or not, that you are not willing to begin working towards.
- No Man’s Land – As you are pursuing your goal in the beginning you are making tremendous progress. You are jumping over the obstacles, running through walls, your energy is high and your faith higher. But as the days turn into weeks and the weeks into months (and sometimes months into years) you begin to lose energy and start to doubt your previous faith. Can you keep walking when nothing is happening? Can you keep trying though you are rejected seemingly for the thousandth time? Are you able to pick yourself back up and try one more time?
- Finishing What Was Started – In life individuals can persevere past getting started and no man’s land and still quit before they are finished. How? They get distracted. You could be just on the brim of accomplishment only to get distracted with another project. You may get bored with what you are doing and then just before your business is getting ready to take an exciting turn you turn your attention to a “more interesting” opportunity. Maybe your business is in the small beginnings stage and just before the big contract comes in you are enticed by the prospect of more money in a different venture. Finish what you started.
Depending on your personality type you will have more trouble in one of these areas than other two however, everyone is tempted to stop on all levels. Knowing this logically and pushing past your emotions to actually keep going is completely different. Personally, I am often distracted by opportunities that seem more exciting and more lucrative. About a year ago I started to notice my trend. I would get started towards a goal in a particular field of business with a great fervor and often times very quickly but I would also be drawn away just as quick to pursue to start a seemingly better opportunity only to leave that business to go with something else.
Stop When You Succeed
I had to stop and say, “This is what I am setting my heart to do and I am going to do it until I become a success.” Regardless of what your experiences have been when setting your goals you can try again. Have you set a goal that is past deadline? Then re-evaluate where you went wrong and set another deadline. Have you set goals only to forget what they were? Rewrite them and put them in a place where you can see everyday. All great success stories begin with a well-defined end in mind. Write your expected end and then persistently pursue that expected end until you achieve your desired outcome.
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Good one!:-)