While you are setting goals for yourself, a majority of them fall under four standard categories - health, wealth, relationship, and self-fulfillment. And the goal attainment process involves strict efforts to find a balance for assured success. A majority of people claim to understand that the key to success is basically better goal-setting method. However, only around 20% amongst the entire population is able to achieve their objectives. The rest 80% either don't think about the same or just fail to achieve. So, before you rush to randomly start setting goals and objectives, understand that there are certain traps that keep holding you back and those are the ones you need to avoid.
#1. Why Do People Fail? They Magnify Fears More Than Their Abilities!
It is the fear of failure (also called as atychiphobia) that stops us from achieving our objectives. Goal setting becomes pretty difficult as most of us are more accustomed into leaning towards the chances that can pull us back than the chances that can push us forward.
Fears rob our self-confidence and make us form reasons to not make the move rather than making us focus on our capabilities. But the key to success is to overcome fears and not let them restrict us from taking up challenges. And this is why you need to stop underestimating your abilities and start moving towards the capable self.
#2. Excuses
We all have one or the other explanation towards not doing a particular task rather than having a strategic plan towards goal attainment. From the stars that weren't perfectly aligned to the time that we could not make and the opportunity that did not fall in our lap - we can just have some or the other reasons to paralyze ourselves from making the "it" decisions and not achieve our goals.
So, why do people fail? Excuses make us fearful and also make us take the required initiative towards goal attainment.
#3. Unrealistic Goal Setting
It is absolutely right to set ambitious targets for the betterment of your career. You might also have demanding schedules to challenge your abilities. But, as long as your goals are achievable, there is no harm. But, once you start setting objectives that are too harsh on your schedule or it just pushes you towards the opposite side, you self-restrict your positive pathways.
However, it is also recommended to have just the right amount of motivation and opt for no such activities that do not help you grow, but in fact diminish your self-confidence. Try not to work on too many things at once. Goal setting should have clear and realistic targets along with time frames that smoothen your progress.
#4. Are You Impatient?
Well, you should understand very precisely that there is no good thing in the world that happens overnight. You struggle for it and you achieve it. And this is why people fail most of the times. They are just too impatient when it comes to obtaining better results. So, to successfully witness progress, you need to wait for some time and let there be some space to make it happen.
Provide a fair chance for everything to strive. Focus on how far you have traveled. And don't be demotivated when the progress happens slower than expected or not at all happens. Instead, find out what is hampering the process and work towards improving it.
#5. Do You Have A Game Plan?
Do you have a strategy that can be worked out in advance? Not really? Then that's what is stopping you from achieving your goals! Be it professionally or be it on a personal level, lacking your game plan is the worst you can do. Chalking out a great plan also makes you better to utilize your abilities. The entire process is like your very own GPS. You have point A to start from and you have point B as your destination.
Always remember, when you fail to plan, you actually are planning to fail. But if you succeed in planning, you have a right direction to follow. You will also be able to set your priorities right. And goal attainment becomes easier. So, the key to success is to have a plan that tells you what you need to do and how to follow the same.
#6. We Lack In Commitments
You definitely know what we are talking about. If not then, you will be able to relate to this - You took up a healthy diet on Monday morning and by the time it's another Monday, you have already started to cheat. You are savoring the box of donuts your colleague/ friend got for lunch.
Your intentions were right, but the excuses/ temptations derailed you from the correct way. You did not want to offend your colleague, but then you also could not keep up with your commitments. Therefore, unless you are not fully taking up the responsibility for your actions, the goal setting would not fall in place.
#7. Does Your Goal Have A Maintained Deadline?
Yes, deadlines are very important if you want to achieve success and work efficiently. You might feel that they obstruct your creative perceptions, but it's not so. In fact, you become even more focused regarding your objectives when deadlines are forced upon you. It also helps you know your true potential and not keep things open-ended. When you don't really know when a task needs to be completed, you are eradicating the factors that will keep you driving towards successful goal attainment.
But on the other hand, deadlines can also be frustrating and cause stress at some point in time. But isn't that what you need to learn - learn to deal with anxiety and overcome the related fears. A deadline means that you are still a part of the game. It proves to be an effective source of motivation along with maintaining the required excitement and purpose of your goal setting process.
Strategically planned deadlines keep you accountable for your actions, they help you move in a positive direction, you also become capable of exceeding expectations and you also learn to prioritize the tasks that matter the most. You also come to know when it is better to say no for things that aren't achievable. And at the end, you understand and start embracing failures in the process of constantly moving forward.
#8. Laziness Kills Your Progression
Exercising our brain as well as the body is the elixir of life. Inactivity has become pretty appealing in today's times. But inactivity comes with an assured price tag. And be it due to any reason, inactivity creates massive and chronic outcomes. It gets nothing done while you are on the way of achieving something big.
Instead, make a move, right or wrong, but attempt! Do not waste your time and in fact, make the most of what all you have. You don't have to simply stop after creating your action plan or prioritizing the tasks. Ask yourself that what actions need to be taken and just exercise those actions. Don't procrastinate but start right away.
#9. Do You Multitask Pretty Often?
If you have been multi-tasking quite often, then now is the time to alter your reality. At times, multitasking is okay, but you also need to understand that goal attainment is possible if you are able to kill this habit and do what would work well. Why do people fail? Because they create and take up too many goals all at once. You are not being as productive as you might otherwise be. You deliberately destroy your own ability to perform well. And you also hinder your creative spaces. Switching back and forth in between several tasks create no links between the memories for you to pave way for clear and newer paths.
You are not able to properly focus on each task. It's like hitting three targets with just a single dart. Therefore, eliminate the secondary objectives and focus on the primary ones that to one by one. Once you complete the primary goal, hop on to the next one. Simple!
#10. Don't We Tend To Give Up When Circumstances Start Getting Tough?
One should never forget that things that are worth having do not come the easy way or for free. They might require your blood, tears, and sweat. But, we are struggling to survive where the entire generation finds giving up as an easy option rather than encouraging perseverance.
We would like to add again, success isn't an overnight affair. It requires determination, diligence, and willpower along with discipline, so you can effectively achieve your life goals and objectives.
#11. Are You Listening To Demotivated People?
Discouraging people do not let your excel in any environment. And it is essential to avoid such people when you are on the way of achieving goals that fit in with your life's purpose. But, such people are an inevitable part of our existence. And they are the ones to decide if we are praiseworthy or not. When someone at your workplace or from your social circle or family, tries to pull you back from the race; you need to understand that their opinion is not what matters.
You need to come to terms with the fact that almost everyone has the ability to point out where you went wrong. But it takes a genuine person to take note of both your positives as well as negatives. The most efficient key to success is not to obstruct your way while proceeding with your goal setting process. You can surely work upon the constructive criticism, but just ignore the people who keep demotivating you whenever you feel that hope exists.
#12. Is Negativity Surrounding You All The Time?
If you keep thinking that you aren't going to make it to your goals, you definitely won't. If you keep saying to yourself that your plans won't be achievable, most probably those plans are going to fail. But, when you have an optimistic personality, even in the times of setbacks, you are going to focus on the positives and spend your energy on finding solutions rather than cribbing about the situation. Most people don't even reach halfway because they are too engrossed in thinking about the negatives.
Therefore, you need to keep monitoring your thoughts and get rid of the negative ones. Else they would hamper your creativity as well as the progress rate. The inner dialogue of self-doubt leads to an unhappy and unsatisfying living. So, do not complain and believe in the art of understanding, learning and making your life a happier one.
#13. Over Analysis That Causes Paralysis
There are some kinds of people who do not take even half a step forward until and unless they do not have all the answers. For them, the scenario of "what if.." shouldn't be left open-ended. No matter how hard it is and no matter how long it takes, there has to be an answer. Another type includes those who formulate questions and/ or answers based on their current situations in spite of where they want to reach.
But do you know that your current situation will sooner or later change drastically and what you will be left with are a few impractical decisions? Therefore, base your answers and goal setting decisions with a futuristic point of view. Keep in your mind the bigger picture where you need to go and not where you presently are!
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(Image Courtesy: 1. Listaka, 2. Roray Vaden, 3. Agilliitics, 4. Pinterest, 5. Investment Conversations, 6. Marianne Rutz, 7. Southeastern University)
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