Fail at Goals? Here’s Some Reasons Why
Written by Holden Rethwill
Everyone seems to enjoy talking about “oh here’s 10 ways that you can be successful” or “do this and you’ll reach your goals”…blah blah blah I think it’s mostly used car salesman rhetoric. I’m going to be real with you today…reaching goals has just as much to do with what NOT to do, than what TO do.
So that said, I wanted to take a little different spin on this whole goal setting initiative and see if me telling you that you aren’t going to reach your goals will inspire some of you to challenge yourselves so that in the end you can tell me I was wrong! That’s my hope, at least. So let’s get to it…
Why You are Going to Fail at Goals this Year
You haven’t set any specific goals. Anyone can set a “well I’d like to make it to the gym regularly and eat healthier goal”… but where is the tangible data that you can check? We need goals that have feedback, nothing left up to opinion. “Well I felt like I made it a couple times so that’s a win” doesn’t cut it for me. I want hard data, either you made it in 3 times or not.
You’re doubting your ability to be successful. Some people don’t want to set goals because they’re afraid of failure. Here’s a quote for you: “Heroes and cowards feel the same fear. Heroes just react to it differently.” Stop being afraid to fail and start achieving your goals.
You’re not working towards it. Everyone can set a goal. That’s not the hard part. The hard part is finding the dedication to achieve that goal. This is where the accountability mirror comes into play. Don’t know what that is? Google it, it might be just what you need. The accountability mirror doesn’t sugarcoat anything.
You’re not setting motivating goals. The reason Fran got her first EVER pull-up at 63 years is because she had been inspired by a lifetime of not being able to. Read the story if you want some inspiration, but the drive and determination she showed me proved that she was MOTIVATED to reach this goal.
You’re not committed. How many times have we seen it? “New year new me”…fast forward a couple weeks or maybe even a month or two…New year, same you. This ties back into the previous tips…specific goal, and goals that motivate you are going to keep you committed. So think hard about what you want and I can guarantee you’re more likely to stay committed. Side note…. you’re not going to succeed right away, how can you stay committed when things don’t happen or road blocks get in your way?
You’re not focused. SQUIRREL!…Ever seen the movie “UP”? The dog that can’t finish a sentence without shouting squirrel. While cute and hilarious…don’t be that dog. Pick something and focus on it. Don’t pick 1,000 things and halfass them.
You give too many excuses. Excuses are like a$$holes…everyone has one, but nobody wants to hear them. That’s all there is to say about that.
You don’t know how to handle failure. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and I’ll stand by it forever…this is one of few places where failure should be encouraged. It means you’re pushing yourself to new limits and trying to elicit the change that you truly want to see.
You get distracted. Distractions, distractions, distractions…they happen to all of us? How can you come back from a distraction so that it’s a mere bump in the road, not an entire landslide washing out the highway to success?
You give up too soon. So you didn’t reach your 30-day timeline…so what…sometimes it just doesn’t happen as soon as we want, but that’s not an excuse to quit. It just means we need to re-evaluate. Maybe we were too aggressive initially? That’s ok…it’s OK to re-adjust your goals and your timeline if it doesn’t happen right away. But quitting just because you didn’t get your ring muscle up in the 30-day window is NOT ok.
So there you have it. These are some of the reasons you are not going to achieve your goals. What you do with this information is up to you. Some people will look at it and be downtrodden, knowing that they resonate with a couple of these points. My hope, though, is that ALL of you will take it as a challenge. Use this information to MAKE SURE that you are successful.
How to NOT Fail at Goals
By finding someone and confiding in them one or two goals that are important to you. Make sure the goals are realistic and achievable (sorry but if you can’t do a strict pull-up yet, muscle-ups aren’t going to happen in 30 days…BUT not saying they’ll never happen, we just have to set realistic goals to start, think of them as stepping stones towards a bigger goal). Set up a timeline, 30-60-90 days, whatever it is. MAKE SURE that this person is going to hold you accountable. Set up an action plan, what you’re going to do to get there. Set up check-ins where you can discuss progress. Then, have your accountabilabuddy check on you regularly to see where you’re at. Succeeding together is a whole lot easier and a whole lot more fun than succeeding alone.
I hope some of this resonates with you…or that you read this and it gets the wheels turning. If you’d like to talk about specific goals, drop us a line!
