A lot of people set goals, and not many people achieve them.
While there are a lot of reasons for this, I will outline some of the ones I’ve come across.
1. Your Goal Isn’t Sexy Enough
Paying down the credit card is uninspiring. You don’t really care. It’s a “have to” rather than a “want to” so you just pay what you can and don’t have a real plan for it.
2. Your Goal Isn’t Important or Urgent Enough
You don’t aspire to fix the dripping tap because it’s only a couple of drips every minute. However, if the drips turn to gushing, then you’ll certainly find the time for it, because it’s both important and urgent.
3. You Don’t Know Where to Start
You have an amazing project to do (let’s call it a research project that you have to prepare a report for school). You love the topic, and love looking stuff up on the internet, and sharing what you’ve learned, but you have no idea how to prepare the report. So you delay, because how are you going to capture the information once you’ve found it?
4. You’ve Forgotten to Check In Along the Way
Just because you set a goal doesn’t mean it’s still real for you now. That new car you were saving up for is now impractical because you’ve moved house, and no longer need that type of vehicle.
5. Your Past Experiences
You set goals before, and they never worked for you, so why would they work now?
6. Your Negative Self Talk
Your thoughts have all the power. Most of your thoughts are subconscious thoughts, hiding until they pop out and you’re aware of them. Once you’re aware you can make a change, but they can be really hard to identify when they’re happening. Believe you can or believe you can’t – you’re right.
7. Negative Comments From Others
Did you ever have a teacher, uncle or aunt, or parent tell you that you couldn’t do something? For some people, this is a red flag to a bull – and their personality says immediately “I will show you!” and off they go and do that thing (as an 8 year old I ate a whole family tin of spaghetti because of this).
But for most of us, this negativity sticks like glue, and even if they said it as a joke or a throw-away comment it can stick around for decades, stopping us from trying.
8. You Haven’t Allowed for Everything Else Going On in Your Life
If you’re a single parent with 3 kids under 5, then it’s unlikely that signing up for a full time university degree will be achievable. Just because you have best intentions doesn’t mean that the time you think you can dedicate and the time that you actually can dedicate will align.
9. It’s Not Your Area of Expertise
Some people are great at building and fixing things, and others are great at writing, and others are great at standing in front of crowds and presenting. It’s not a failure on your part if you’re not suited to particular things, but don’t let fear of doing a non-perfect job hold you back.
Start Again
All of these reasons can seem pretty dismal. In fact, if you’ve come across several of these you might say that this is why you can’t set goals, and why it doesn’t work for you.
My advice is to start again. A goal is something that inspires you, that you want to accomplish, and you have a clear plan for. In the next blog, look for ways you can make goal setting easier.
Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account. Always seek professional advice for your specific situation.
