The Habit of Hitting Goals
For many people, goal setting is just an exercise in futility. We know we should do it, but it just never seems to work. We set goals, but never really achieve them. We try again, only to fail again.
Eventually, it becomes easier just to skip the whole exercise – after all, if I don’t set a goal, then I don’t have to feel bad when I don’t hit it, right?
The problem here is not with the concept of goal setting. The problem is that most of us never get the chance to experience the power of GOAL HITTING. This happens because of a few simple errors that almost everybody makes in the process of learning to set goals. When you make these errors and you fail to hit your goals, it sets off a whole chain of negative consequences, including frustration, guilt and a hard-to-define dissonance of the spirit that comes when you let yourself down.
On the other hand, when you get into the habit of HITTING your goals, the opposite effect takes place. You experience satisfaction, personal fulfillment, and a sense of alignment and harmony that creates a powerful upward spiral in your life.
So what are these common pitfalls?
In my life I have found that the single biggest obstacle to hitting my goals is that I have a tendency to set goals that are simply the wrong size.
This has two causes:
First, I tend to confuse dreams with actual goals.
A dream is something that I would like to be or have or do. I desire it, but I have not really counted the cost of achieving it. If I take an unprocessed dream, and simply call it a goal without really figuring out what it will take to obtain it –that has almost always been a recipe for failure. Dreams are good, but I have had to learn to distinguish between a dream (a desire) and a Goal (a promise to myself). I do this by asking, “what I am WILLING to do?” Am I willing to actually do the work required to achieve this goal? If not, that’s OK, but I should either adjust the goal or choose a different one.
The second reason for failing to hit goals is that I simply fail to take reality into account.
We have all heard that we should set BIG goals and that’s true, but it only works once we have firmly established the habit of hitting our goals. When you are starting out, make your goals as achievable as possible. They should be challenging, but they must be realistic.
For instance, if I only have 1 day available in the next month for hiking, the chances that I can climb 16 peaks to achieve my goal are pretty slim. A reality check means looking at available time and resources (including money and people) and asking what CAN I do under these circumstances. If I don’t have enough resources, then I must change how I frame my goal to allow for reality.
Why is hitting your goals so important?
First and foremost because when you don’t hit your goals, it creates a crippling cycle of psychological damage — the result of being out of alignment with your own purpose and values. When you start to hit your goals, however, you begin a process of integrating your words with your life that will ripple through your entire existence. Then, as hitting your goals becomes common, it becomes your default setting. That’s when bigger goals start to motivate rather than frustrate you. The resulting harmony will bring you great satisfaction and personal fulfillment that will propel you upward toward the life you have always wanted – and that is a very very good thing.
So start today by setting one small goal, asking yourself, “what CAN I do?” and “what am I really WILLING to do?” Then start doing it, even if it is a tiny thing. Each success you obtain builds upon another, and pretty soon you will begin to master the incomparable habit of Goal Hitting.
Be Free!
This article was written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com
David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copy-writing service, sales scripts and business name ideas.
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This article hits the nail on the head. When you confuse goals with dreams you fall into the trap of never achieving them and then act of setting goals can turn into a negative event…”why bother if I won’t hit it anyway?” Making sure the goal is realistic, the right size AND that you are extremely willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal, will make the goal attainable. I tried what Dave suggested and it worked! Last July I told myself, “I will lose 20 lbs by Sept 1st. I will work out daily and eat only 1200 calories.” Most people fall into the same trap I did when setting weight loss goals. The goal you set is too big and/or you don’t give yourself enough time to work at it. If I haven’t been to the gym in the past 5 years, why would I think I would go every day for the next 4 weeks? It was unrealistic, the size was too big, it was a dream, not a goal. Sept 1st arrived and I had lost exactly -2 lbs, meaning I gained 2
. I decided to reset the goal and change the date to February 15th. Once I gave myself 6 months to achieve the goal, I understood it was realistic and atainable, and I knew I would not have to sacrafice a ton to do it. That switch was all it took. I knew that if I lost just 1 lb a week I would hit that goal. It was a managable size I knew I could handle. When Feb 15th rolled around, I had lost 24 lbs! YAY ME!!!!
THANKS DAVE!
Comment by Loren — February 25, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
It’s an interesting dynamic. To set a goal that is less than enormous sets off this voice somewhere in the back of my head that says, “What a weinie!” So then I listen to the voice and jack up the goal, not based on any sense of reality, but merely on the hope that if I wish for it hard enough it will happen. Then when I fail to achieve the goal, that same voice comes back and says, “What a weinie!” because I failed.
It takes a certain discipline to go for the **small** consistent increases. It changes the dynamic because you may still get the first voice calling you names, but when you start hitting the goals you set, the second voice changes to saying, “You da man!” I’m still learning how to tune into that and make experiencing that voice an emotional habit. I suspect that eventually, when the taste of victory becomes commonplace, then first voice is not nearly so loud or insistent.
Congrats to Loren! I did not know this part of your story. You look terrific, and apparently you feel terrific too. A good reminder for me.
Comment by Dave — February 26, 2008 @ 11:13 am
This is extremely helpful for me. I have struggled with goal setting all my life. I had these goals that I really wanted to accomplish. When I really thought about it, they were too high. I realized that I needed smaller, attainable goals that would give me pratice for the bigger ones. I won`t lie, the big ones were always there, they did not just dissappear. What I did was to set smaller goals that would a. put me in the direction of the larger ones and b. give me confidence to raise the bar. Thanks Dave.
Comment by alan — February 28, 2008 @ 6:37 pm