At the beginning of every year, we write down a list of goals that we want to achieve. More often than not, and as the days pass, we come to notice with frustration, that we only managed to achieve maybe 20% of what we aimed for. As a consequence, we begin to doubt ourselves and not trust ourselves enough to try again while in fact, it is not always our willpower at fault here, maybe the entire process of how we set our goals and how we try to achieve them that needs to be gone over. Let’s first clear out that failure is part of success, but the question is, how often do you fail to achieve your goals? If this has happened to you more than it should, maybe one of the reasons below will give you clarity.
1. Not knowing your ‘Why’.
A goal with an undefined purpose is just unachievable. To make this clear, let’s say you are surrounded by a lot of people who work out regularly, you list it in your goals that you want to go to the gym. Now here you should ask yourself, what is the reason you want to go to the gym is it because you want to be fit? Or just because that is what everyone is doing so you think you should do the same? Or maybe, you put a goal of moving to a new city, ask yourself first why you want to move to a new city. Is it a change for a better lifestyle, a better income? Knowing your purpose allows you to take the right steps toward achieving your goals. It puts you on the right track.
2. Not having a plan.
As the saying goes, ‘a goal without a plan is just a wish’. Here’s an example that will simplify it for you; you are on a roadtrip, so for you to reach the destination you either know the route or have looked it up. You have also definitely made sure you have enough fuel, decided what time you’ll make a move, where you’ll stay, and have packed enough things to last you throughout the trip. The same applies to reaching a goal, you cannot set a goal without planning how to reach it. If you just put your goal down on paper without a plan, chances are this piece of paper will be hanging long enough on your board of dreams and is never checked ‘done’.
3. Loss of focus and clarity.
While we try our best to stay on track, things happen that make us lose focus on the path, but this is life. Along the way, we will get distracted by all kinds of interruptions or hardships that life throw at us; it can be fear of losing a job, or losing someone close to our heart. It is ok to lose focus for a while until you grasp the change happening around you, but always remember to bring yourself back on track again.
4. Fear of failure.
We put so much attention on the possibility of failure that we lose sight of our goal. But fear is crippling and striving for perfection will only pull you back and hinder you from moving forward. You will never know how far you reach until you try, and if you fail once, there is always a second time to try.
5. Not taking action today.
We’ve all been there before. We set a goal, we make a plan, but then we say we’ll start tomorrow, next week, or at the beginning of the month. Then, before we know it, you will find days on end slipping by and we are not one step close to your goal. Procrastination is one of the biggest reasons why we fail. Start today, no matter how small the step you take, it is still a step forward.
6. Focusing too much on the effort that you forget the reward.
Achieving goals need a lot of hard work, and some goals can be more challenging than others. When a goal is too far or big to achieve we get overwhelmed by all the effort we need to do to reach it. As a result, we pull ourselves back and try to convince ourselves that it might not be worth all the effort. Keep your goal in front of you, don’t focus on all the hard work you’ll have to do, but rather on where this will take you.
7. Allowing others to cloud your thinking.
We all come across naysayers who make us doubt our abilities. They always pass a lot of negative comments or harsh criticism that can derail our progress. Don’t allow this type of people to get the best of you or pull you back. On the contrary, let that be a motive to prove to yourself, that you are capable and that you can achieve anything you put your mind to.
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