Reaching Your Goals and the Excuses People Make

What Exactly are Goals? Setting goals is the most essential element of getting to where you want to be in life. Goals have been described as a route, system, recipe, or prescription for reaching your ultimate vision. They are the stepping stones which take you closer and closer to where you want to be in life. People who get ahead, accomplish more things, and create more experiences in their life are people who set out goals for themselves. If you have no goals, you have no direction. If you have no direction, you don’t progress, you don’t develop yourself and your profession or business to the optimal level, and you let life pass you by. This applies to every aspect of your life including personal and professional. Why People Don’t Reach Their Goals The majority of people that don’t reach their goals fail to do so because they either: a. set their goals incorrectly or b. preferred to not set goals for themselves at all. There is a multitude of reasons why people fail to reach their goals in life. This could be anything from not believing they are capable of doing what needs to be done to get to where they want to be in life or to thinking they are not worthy of such satisfaction and success. It’s mind-boggling how many excuses we can come up with to keep from taking the steps we know we need to take towards creating the changes we want in life. Some common excuses people use for not setting goals for themselves are:

• “I don’t have time to make a list.”
• “I don’t really know what I want.”
• “I don’t know how to set goals.”
• “I’m afraid of succeeding.”
• “I’m afraid of failing.”
• “I’m afraid of upsetting the status quo.”
• “I’m afraid of being rejected, laughed at, or dissuaded by my family or friends.”
• “I’ve got too much going against me.”
• “I just don’t see the point.”
• “I accept the way my life is.”

People that believe these things are paralyzed by their own fears. They’ve allowed their fears to get the best of them and have dealt with it by choosing to let go of control over their life. For them, being satisfied with living a mediocre life is easier than putting in the work it takes to design a life path and control the direction of their life. They have instead chosen to put their life on cruise control and not work towards experiencing their desires and the quality of life that they wish for and deserve. Apathy is a recipe for living a non-fulfilled and non-enthusiastic existence. Don’t let yourself fall into this category of persons who choose to live their life that way. Live your life out loud and to the absolute fullest, get 100% of what you put into it, and design it to reflect everything that you most value. What is required in creating a successful goal? According to the SMART acronym for setting achievable goals, when you set a goal for yourself, you should make sure that it is: 1. Specific, 2. Measurable, 3. Achievable, 4. Realistic, and 5. Timely. 1. Specific: When you begin to create goals for yourself, make sure to write down exactly what that goal is, what it entails, and why you want to accomplish it. Make it as clear and specific as possible. Having this clarity will help you to remove uncertainty and doubt of your own capability. If you feel the goal is too big to tackle, break it down into smaller goals. That is no problem. The point is to design goals for yourself that you will go after. When you are designing your goal, also make sure to include what is needed for you to reach that goal in regards to tools, people, specific action steps, and resources. 2. Measurable: Make sure to give yourself a deadline for each specific goal you create. Also give deadlines to each action step that you create for each goal. If you don’t have a definitive deadline, your goal becomes a wish, a desire, or a resolution. Your chances of accomplishing it diminish greatly and your drive and focus goes out the window. Having a clearly set deadline keeps you on track, gives you the pressure that you need to get to where you want to be faster, and shows you whether you are using your time as effectively as possible. 3. Achievable: The goal you set for yourself should be attainable given your circumstances in life, health, and available resources. 4. Realistic: Your goals should require that you move from your comfort zone. Yet, they should not be impossible standards. 5. Timely: Your goal should include a specific time period in which it is to be accomplished. If you fail to have this information as part of your goal setting, you’ll simply be setting a wish, desire, or resolution… not as likely to be accomplished. Now, think of your goals? Do they fit this criteria? If they don't then get to it! Apply these requirements to create goals in alignment to your values and your vision of the life you want to experience!