Why 92% of People Don't Achieve Their Goals
The reasons why you may not have achieved your goals in the past comes down to the following factors:
Your goals weren't specific enough.
There's a saying that goes: "A lack of clarity could put the brakes on any journey to success." When your goals and dreams are vague, it's harder for them to materialize. If you don't know exactly which direction you want to go, how can you possibly know how to get there?
Your goals weren't aligned with what you truly want.
This is where the "I should want to do this" vs. "I have the burning desire to do this" comes in.
When you set a goal, are you committed to achieving it because it's a result you absolutely must have in your life or is it something you think you should want to do to better yourself? Do you really want to go to the gym every day to improve your natural wellness, or are you doing it because you think you should?
When your goals don't have a burning desire attached to them, you're less likely to be motivated to achieve them.
You didn't write down your goals.
There's something about writing down your goals on paper that brings them into reality. In fact, research shows that people who write down and talk about their goals on a regular basis are 33% more successful in accomplishing them (2).
Writing down your goals also encourages you to get more specific about what you want to achieve, and why.
You didn't have an actionable plan in place.
Without mapping out the exact steps you need to take towards achieving your goals, they can seem overwhelming or impossible to reach which may prevent you from taking any step towards them at all.
Don't let these goal setting mistakes get in the way of what you want to accomplish this new year. You can achieve anything you set your mind to when you follow the 5 golden rules for goal setting.
1. Be Crystal Clear on What You Want to Achieve (and Why)
One of the biggest struggles with goal setting is knowing what you want to achieve, and why.
I recommend using meditation and visualization techniques before setting goals to get as much clarity as possible (even if you think you know what you want).
Benefits of Meditation for Goal Setting
The goal with meditation is to silence the mind, which is when new ideas or desires from your subconscious can surface. Quieting your inner dialogue can also allow solutions and ideas to come up, which you may not have thought of before.
Sitting in silence and just "being" for 5-10 minutes each day is enough to experience the mental benefits of meditation. You may also enjoy listening to guided meditations on YouTube (there are thousands of free meditations to choose from online, so you're sure to find one that works for you).
Benefits of Visualization for Goal Setting
Visualization is another powerful goal setting tool to help you gain clarity. In fact, many successful entrepreneurs and celebrities, such as Muhammad Ali, credit their achievements to regularly using visualization techniques. Entrepreneur.com once stated "Muhammad Ali was always stressing the importance of seeing himself victorious long before the actual fight" (3).Visualization works because it helps you envision a specific outcome that encourages you to focus more positive energy on your goals.
Visualization helps you tune in to feelings, rather than thoughts, which can further guide your decisions and goals.
I recommend dedicating 5 minutes each day to visualization before you go to bed, or while you get ready for work. Have fun with it! You can create the success you want, as long as you feel and believe that you can.
2. Create a Step-by-Step Action Plan
The easiest way to create an action plan for achieving your goals is to break them down into simple steps that fit into these categories:
- What you must do each day to achieve your goal
- What you must do each week to achieve your goal
- What you must do each month to achieve your goal
And don't forget: It's important to ask yourself if these steps are 100% realistic for you. If they don't feel quite right once you've written them down, keep breaking down your goals into smaller steps until they make sense for you.
3. Celebrate All Milestones (Even the Smallest Ones)
No milestone should go uncelebrated!
Celebrate all of your successes - big and small. This can remotivate you and remind you how far you've come, even if you feel you haven't made much progress.
4. Track Your Progress (And Remain Positive)
Since life is constantly changing, it's important to remain flexible with your goals. Sometimes goals take on new forms as we enter different life stages.
While certain obstacles may get in the way, or change your goals, tracking your progress, reevaluating, and adjusting your next steps will keep you on track without feeling like your efforts have been wasted.
5. Think Positively
Always think positively about your goals. Use visualization to imagine what it will feel like to achieve your dreams, and to prevent fears and doubts from getting in the way. Dismiss any negative fears, doubts and thoughts as they come up by saying "not useful," and choosing a more positive thought instead.
Creating a vision board that showcases what you want to bring into your experience this new year, will also provide a reminder of why you've chosen your goals in the first place. Regardless of how big or small your resolutions are, the small consistent steps you take each day yield the most powerful results.
About Brandi Black, RHN
Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist from Vancouver, B.C. Experiencing her own health challenges at a young age led her to become passionate about educating on the healing properties of food, and how to achieve hormone balance, clear skin and sustainable weight loss naturally. In her spare time you'll find Brandi writing in her blog and hanging out with her teacup chihuahua, Coconut.
Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...
We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on SunChlorellaUSA.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge. The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article. "This information is proudly provided by Sun Chlorella®. For more information visit https://www.sunchlorellausa.com/.