Statistically when trying to achieve goals one can assume that most of your goal attempts fail. There is compelling evidence that regardless of good intentions and effort, people consistently fall short of achieving their goals.
I am sure that every one of you at some time in your life has set goals, goals that excited you. Goals that you really wanted to achieve, the end result would have been fantastic. It would have completely changed your life.
You’ve probably at the beginning of a New Year set yourself New Year resolutions.
Maybe you’ve tried using a vision board.
Written your goals on a post it note
Or on A5 index cards
Even a bucket list
You worked hard trying to make them happen. You put in so much effort committing so much time and making so many sacrifices. Yet for one reason or another you came up short, your goal attempts fail.
This has probably happened time after time. You’ve set big goals, set out on a journey with the intention of reaching these goals, but again and again you’ve been unsuccessful goal attempts fail.
I am sure you still have goals that you want to achieve.
Perhaps you want to:
• Lose weight
• Quit smoking
• Learn to play a musical instrument
• Find your soul mate
• Improve your existing relationships
• Make new relationships
• Improve your health
• Write a bestselling book
• Own your own successful business
But will your attempts turn out unsuccessful yet again? Alas your experiences are shared by many. Every year more than 70 percent of people make New Year’s resolutions but as Forbes magazine reported in 2013 only eight percent of people who make New Year resolutions keep them. In fact, 35 percent of people who make New Year’s resolutions break them by the end of January. Depressing statistics!
Accomplishing your goals are integral to the success of your life, but how come many of your goals remain nothing more than wishes, every attempt you’ve made have failed?
If some of your goals are flailing right now, you’re definitely going to want to read this list and then take action to correct what’s stopping you achieving your goals. The top 10 reasons your goal attempts fail are:
1. LACK OF CLARITY. Lack of clarity is the most common goal setting mistake that people make. If you don’t really know what you want in life, you could be climbing up the wrong tree. Clear goals and objectives are essential. If you don’t take the time to get really clear about exactly what it is you’re trying to accomplish, then you’re forever doomed to spend your life dissatisfied. No matter how much effort you put in to achieving the goals you seek, if you wake up to the fact this isn’t in fact the goal you desire, your efforts have simply been wasted. Then you’ll be back to the drawing board. You must spend the time getting absolutely clear on the goals that really matter to you.
2. NOT ENOUGH REASONS. A big enough why will overcome any of the challenges that stand in your way. You need to know your why, the reason for wanting something. The real motivating factors. Jim Rohn wrote, “reasons come first, answers come second.” When you have reasons, you will find the answers on how to achieve your goals. He went on to say: “when you know what you want and you want it badly enough, you’ll find a way to get it.” This requires you digging deep to really uncover the compelling reason for wanting your goal. It is this that will ensure you put everything into its achievement, never stopping, no matter how tough things may get.
3. INSUFFICIENT KNOWLEDGE. Never in the history of the world has knowledge been so easy and inexpensive to acquire. Not knowing can be easily solved by learning what you need to know. We don’t have all the answers, but our personal development requires us to continually improve and therefore acquire new knowledge. Answers to most things are out there if you care to look. I want to learn to play the guitar. I can’t read music and have never played a musical instrument so to achieve this goal I have a lot to learn. But the resources available to all of us in this day and age is incredible. We can find almost anything online. If a goal is truly worth achieving then we must seek to improve ourselves, and the knowledge we have to support us in making it happen. Everyday you should be seeking to better yourself. So if your goals are important enough to you, be prepared to learn, study and increase your knowledge.
4. LACK OF BELIEF. Many people will set after a goal yet have no belief in themselves and doubting they’ll be able to achieve it. They are destined to fail before they even start. It is essential that we believe in our possibilities and our potential of achieving a goal we set out to achieve. Why run in a race if you don’t think you can even finish it. Within us we all have superhuman powers, we just don’t use them. You can truly achieve anything you put your mind and effort into. If you believe this and go for what it is you want with unrelenting pursuit the time will come where you will get what you want.
5. A FEAR OF FAILURE. Fear of failure can easily stop us from succeeding in achieving our goals. It can keep you from moving towards your goals holding you back. You must shake the fear that the more difficult your goal, the higher the possibility that you will fail. These negative feelings will self-limit you. Too many people do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are afraid to try due to their fear of failure. I can’t do this, or I know I’m going to fail is ensuring you’ll be proved right. You are capable of achieving anything as long as failure is an option you won’t consider. If you have to keep trying, picking yourself u8p after every setback, then that’s what you have to do, because, I repeat, failure is not an option.
6. LACK OF FOCUS. Distractions come at us from every direction and can easily knock you off course. If you have a lack of focus your tasks will take longer because they will be compromised by distractions and wasted time. A lack of focus can sabotage your goal. We all have goals and dreams, but it can be difficult to stick with them. We all start with good intentions, but can’t maintain our consistency for a long period of time. So many things vie for our attention trying to knock us of course, tempting us into a different direction. Tony Robbins says when you make a decision, sever any other possibility, and when going for goals don’t go for anything else until you’ve achieved your desired outcome.
7. NOT MEASURING PROGRESS. You can set a variety of personal goals, and each kind will require different methods of measuring progress. Some goals by their very nature take a while to achieve, so it’s important to review your goal progress to make sure that you really are progressing and not just going around in circles. If you determine you’re not on track you can identify ‘why’, and move forward better than you were doing before. Everything can be measured in one way or another. If you are dieting you’d measure weight loss, if making money was your goal you’d check how much income you earned each month, or maybe you’d measure your activities. There will always be something to gauge your success, and it’s important you do so to ensure you’re on track.
8. LACK OF COMMITMENT. We have all set goals with optimism and excitement but we don’t always back this up with commitment. Things worth achieving take effort, willpower, and determination. To begin the process of truly getting committed to your goals, ask yourself, “am I ready and willing to accept the inevitable mental and emotional discomfort that I must endure to reach this worthwhile goal?” If you are not totally committed you will soon give up on it altogether. Face the fact that anything worth achieving is going to take effort and hard work, nothing comes easy. The bigger your goal the harder it will be to achieve, so you have to be fully committed, refusing to let anything stand in your way.
9. TOO MANY GOALS. We all want to achieve the best we’re capable of, but this sometimes means you set to many goals at one time. The problem is, having to many goals is worse than having none at all. You’re likely to end up missing out on them all. We each only have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You have to use the time available to you wisely. By focusing on a few important goals ensures you’re not dividing your attention across too many areas. You can concentrate your attention where it’s needed to achieve your specific goals. I suggest no more than four goals at any time.
10. NOT PLANNING. “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” If you want to achieve anything in life, it is far better to have a clear plan. Not being sure of the next step creates more procrastination than almost anything else. You have to have a plan. It may not get followed exactly, but planning is essential. It’s essential you allocate your time wisely, determining the most important activities you need to focus on, plotting every step from where you are now to where you want to go.
I hope this demonstrates to you why your goal attempts fail and show you how to achieve your goals in the future. By knowing these common reasons for failing in achieving your goal you can now ensure you remove each from your pursuits. Focus on doing the right things and your next attempts may well be successful.
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” Henry Ford
The Single Page Plan available in book format, either paperback or Kindle, as well as the online course will help you to implement a process that will lead to you achieving your goals and changing your life.
If you found this helpful, please pass it along to some friends so they can be successful just like you.
What are the major goals you want to accomplish? What are the main reasons your goal attempts fail to this point.
photo credit: keepitsurreal Take Big Risks and Learn Fast From Your Failures via photopin (license)
