Why you’re not achieving your goals

August 11, 2021

I love writing down my goals. I also looooove making lists! There is something so satisfying about being able to cross something off of a list. But the truth is, writing down your goals isn’t actually going to make you achieve them…

Let’s take it back to January – not the freezing-cold winter part, but the “new year, new me” part. This is the time of year that the majority of us take a few moments to set new goals and intentions. We make a point to write them down somewhere, have a ton of motivation, continuously say that this is “our year” and….nothing.

One year later, the new year rolls around again, we look at that list and realize that we have accomplished one or none of the goals that we wrote down.

Does this sound familiar? It does to me! The year started strong and slowly began to fizzle out as the days passed.

Do you ever sit to think about why you never ended up achieving those goals? A few common answers could be that things didn’t turnout the way we had planned, other things got in the way, or that the goals were a little too “out there.” Although this may be true in some cases… there is one common mistake that A LOT of us make when it comes to goal setting… not having a plan.

You can make all the lists that you want, but if you’re not making a step-by-step PLAN of execution, you’ll never get anywhere.

This is something that I was missing for SO LONG. I had these elaborate lists of goals and things I wanted to do. I would put that list away, come back to it a few months later and nothing had changed. For a while, I wondered if I just wasn’t able to achieve these goals or whether they were too far-fetched. Nope!!! I just wasn’t setting myself up for success in the right way.

Most goals require multiple steps to be achieved, so by writing your goal on a paper and simply expecting it to happen, you’re just setting yourself up for failure. You NEED to create an action plan! This is also why it’s great to focus on only one or a few goals at a time. If you set the bar too high, in terms of goals and expectations for yourself, you will feel overwhelmed and lose your motivation.

BREAK IT DOWN

Breaking your goals up into actionable steps with timelines gives you continuous motivation to keep working at those goals. You have the steps set out in front of you and now you know exactly what to do next. When the next move is unknown, it makes everything appear more unclear –like a roadblock. That’s typically when we stop working toward achieving that goal and move on. This is why it’s important to figure all of the steps out before we have the chance to come face-to-face with that kind of roadblock. Physically having a plan in front of your eyes also makes the goal appear to be more achievable and you’ve already got a head start because you’ve created a plan of action.

“Forget about goals, focus on systems instead”

If you have not read the book Atomic Habits, I strongly recommend that you do! The main theme of this book is that by working on being 1% better every day, we have the power to change our lives. It’s all about making the small “atomic” changes and making those changes form good habits.

At the beginning of the book, the author, explains how we have trouble achieving goals without having systems in place. The quote above is from Scott Adams, the cartoonist behind the Dilbert comic. He explains that “Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results.”

Creating a plan that excites you and makes you even more eager to go for it will not only help you, but will also make you enjoy the process of achieving your goal.  

Enjoy the process of working toward your dreams.

‍Oftentimes, we tell ourselves that we will be happy once something happens – once we buy our dream car, once we look a certain way, once we have a certain amount in our bank account. But, while we’re working toward those goals, the rest of our life is passing us by.  

Furthermore, the knowledge we acquire and the lessons that we learn throughout the process can be much more valuable than the actual goal that we are working toward achieving. Think about it this way, if you are committed to any sort of goal, you make changes, create systems, take leaps of faith and risks to meet your goal, right? Looking back at all the steps you took throughout the process of achieving your goal, you can see how much you have grown as a person and built new habits that will continue to benefit you.  

Enjoying the process and the things you learn along the way is JUST AS important as achieving the goal.

Now let’s create a plan and get to work. Here is a quick example of an action plan:

Goal: Buy a new car in 6 months.

Steps: Questions you should be asking yourself:

-       Which car do I want exactly? Colour, year, trim level, etc.

-       How much does the car cost?

-       Do I want to buy it in cash, do payments, or lease? Am I putting down a deposit?

-       How much are the bi-weekly payments or how much money do I need to buy it?

-       With my current income, does this fit into my budget? How much do I need to set aside in order to buy this car? (Whether that be to buy it or to make the payments and still have money for all other expenses) How much do I need to set aside for additional expenses? (Insurance, gas, car washes, winter tires, oil changes, unforeseen car troubles, etc.)

-       Make a plan that includes how much you would set aside per pay check/monthly for these expenses.

Next, go to the dealership and take that car for a test drive! Physically being inside the car and knowing exactly what it feels like driving your new car (or one similar to it) will be very motivating and will make you so much more excited to save for it.

You can make an action plan for ANY goal you set out for yourself – no matter how big or how small. Ask yourself all of the questions you need to answer to achieve the goal. Once you have all of the answers figured out, get to work and make that plan. Make sure you also add a date to every step to keep you accountable and on track the meet the goal.

Main takeaways from this post:

-      Write down all of your goals and assign a due date for your goals.

-      Once you’ve done that, ask yourself all the questions you need answers to relating to that goal. Next, write out a detailed step-by-step plan. If this is a goal that you are very passionate about, this step will be motivating and lots of fun.

Not sure where to start? Download my FREE Brain Dump and To-Do List template to get all your thoughts out and begin working toward your dream life! 

Know yourself, know your body & until next time!

Mags

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