Goal setting is a welcome practice, either for personal or professional life. They provide purpose and direction to our daily activities and behaviors.
Yet, many people feel stuck in the question: Why am I not able to achieve my goal in spite of working very hard for it?
No matter the struggle, herein we will explore reasons why people fail to achieve their goals and ways to overcome barriers.
Why We Fail to Achieve Our Many Goals
No matter if new year’s resolution or work-related projects, many factors can pull you out of the right course.
The reasons why people cannot achieve their goals lie in a lack of organization and fear. However external factors — such as coworkers and ambient distractions — may hinder the progress of attainable objectives as well.
In any case, here we analyze some of the most common causes of failure in goal achievement.
Distractions Take Our Focus Away
Keeping focused on tasks is a major difficulty when it comes to goal attainment. Even with the perfect action plan in hand, many people can lose focus in the middle of the process.
Distractions are not limit to social media usage, they also include:
- Social interactions
It is good to keep a good interpersonal relationship with your co-workers. But parallel talking can affect performance at work.
Besides, rude or toxic commentaries from colleagues can also sabotage your job. Sometimes, negative conversations might be unsettling for some, influencing on self-image and confidence.
- Psychological causes
Having your mental health in good order is mandatory. Your brain’s responsible for your productivity, besides being the principal responsible for focus.
The chronicle stress and worries drain your mental energy, as well as the main reasons for burnout — consequently impeding you from achieving your goals.
Not understanding how to self-manage may bring difficulties to that aspect.
- Home Office
Since COVID-19, many enterprises adopted this modality to reduce the expenses with rent and maintenance required by physical facilities.
However, some home elements might be a huge distraction, such as TV and streaming services, familiar interactions, paying attention to pets, or doing small chores in between your tasks.
Fear Holds Us Back
Many people get stuck in the goal-setting process. They plan every single bit of a goal in order to guarantee success. Despite all the detailed plans of action, some people simply don’t put them into practice.
Procrastination comes from various sources, one of them being the fear of failure. The apprehensiveness of the unknown and possible obstacles are sources of fear.
Even though it is part of the process, people may struggle when overcoming it. It is okay to fear new things when it doesn’t paralyze you.
Unclear or Unrealistic Goals
It’s natural to aim for greater things in life, it is a great ambition sign. However, be conscious that the goals you set need to be achieved somehow.
For example: Losing 20 pounds in two weeks seems not only exhausting but also an unattainable goal. It requires much more of your body than you consume in a day. The caloric deficit would be extreme for this aim.
But if you consider a great diet plan, regular exercises, and consuming the right amount of water in your days; you’ll be able to achieve this goal in a healthier and more manageable way — not within two weeks, of course, but in two months or more.
Another important part of achieving goals properly is to have well-settled objectives. Having generic goals doesn’t take you anywhere. Understanding what you truly want and why is the first step to knowing your objective.
The more detailed your aim is, the higher your motivation will be in your actions.
Too Many Competing Priorities
It is not a secret that tasks take time to be done, and it is impossible to complete a long to-do list in a day. It’s important to set priorities, however, beware: some tasks might conflict due to their deadline.
For example: your manager asks you to take the lead on a big project for that week, at the same time he wants you to support and supervise new employees in their daily activities for that period.
Sometimes, the clashing between goals might arise from different perspectives and demands. You must find the balance of managing your time and energy for a better performance.
Poor Planning and Preparation
Planning does not affect only personal schedules and productivity; it also interferes with budget, resources, and morale.
Think about writing down what exactly takes you to accomplish a specific goal. Understanding what takes you to obtain a specific result it’s fundamental to your projects — steps, time, and costs.
Without planning your steps, you don’t get anywhere and may spend more time and resources on unplanned events. This can surpass the budget and cause more losses than future gains.
Creating a plan also involves preparing yourself for unforeseen events. You must learn to overcome obstacles that may appear so you can prospectively spare energy and resources. Besides, it avoids frustration, which can lead you to abandon your goals.
Lack of Accountability
When you don’t assume responsibility for your own actions and behaviors, blaming external factors, the results won’t be good. Missed deadlines, incomplete tasks, and no progress are regular results of this harmful practice.
The lack of commitment and responsibility leads to an inevitable difficulty in personal and professional goal-achievement.
How to Set Goals and Achieve Goals Effectively
Apart from the aforementioned, another reason for things not to go as planned is not knowing how to proceed with effective goal-setting. No matter your professional or personal life, understanding how to outline your objectives is prior to success.
No matter your short-term or long-term vision, some procedures assist you in prioritizing making your chores simple and light.
Make Goals Specific and Measurable
So far, it is clear that unattainable goals don’t give the desired outcomes for anybody. A good way out is to set smart goals for yourself, which involves having specific objectives.
Writing down detailed tasks that answer how, when, and why questions clarify your desires. Having tangible goals gives purpose and motivation for you to keep working towards them.
If you find yourself struggling with organizing your goals and starting them, consider using technology in your favor. Many schedule organizer tools and apps have been developed in the past few years. With a few clicks, you may find the one that fits you better.
Set Priority Goals That Align With Values
A prior responsibility for motivation is your personal value. No matter the objective, if you feel like you’re breaking your own principles, it will be harder and harder to keep your goal effectively progressing.
So, for the entrepreneurial scenario, it’s in the enterprise’s best interest for you to fully commit to their cause. Otherwise, the end result won’t be as good as it could be. People need to feel connected with the cause and feel motivated to be part of the solution to the problem presented.
Break Down Goals Into Smaller Steps
Although long-term vision is fundamental, you must consider making it easily achievable. The bigger the goal, the more steps to achieve the finish line you’ll need.
Breaking into smaller tasks eases the attainment and tracking down the steps you’ve already taken and the ones you need to take next. It’s easier to stay motivated and committed when you have smaller goals.
Assign Deadlines and Track Progress
After detailing your steps, you must set deadlines for each of them. After all, if they are not measurable, they are susceptible to never being done. To avoid procrastination, try to develop a due date for each step you’re taking.
Another strategy that assists you in keeping track of the time, is writing down not only the steps you must take but also what you have done so far. The mapping over actions provides a tangible time guide that eases up the way for you to achieve effective goals.
Review and Adjust Goals Regularly
If you believe that goal setting does not change during the course of it, you might consider revising your concepts.
Considering the unpredictability of life obstacles, it is fundamental to your success to review and adjust the plans regularly. Inquiry about what does lead you to progress and what does hold you back.
Localize potential problems and then overcome it by changing your perspective of how to react to certain situations.
Overcoming Fear of Failure and Fear of Success
“Fear” is a common feeling among people, and it is also a major factor that impedes us from achieving life goals.
Surprisingly, success is also a root of panic among people besides fear. Part of self-sabotage arises from the possibility of life-changing actions. The progress caused by advance can bring new challenges and it sounds threatening to some.
Some techniques might assist you in controlling fear and reaching your goals.
Develop Self-Discipline and Focus
Keep in mind: independently of your fear of success or failure, new challenges and responsibilities will come. They are an inevitable future and you must build self-discipline to keep focused on the finish line.
No rush on starting big, consider small habits first. Look forward to practicing self-discipline over daily tasks, such as reading 20 pages of a book per day.
Even though it seems to be a random choice, by adding this practice it will be easier to have further discipline in bigger tasks.
Build Positive Habits and Routines
A step in the right direction certainly includes having good habits for a healthier body and mind.
Many benefits come along with good habits. You may obtain more energy, focus, and even self-confidence by developing a good mental and physical state. But even building good habits requires lots of self-discipline and commitment.
According to Charles Duhhig, you need 21 days of persistence to adapt to a new habit.
Changing simple routines can already enhance your self-satisfaction. Maybe you want to try going to the gym, and that’s reasonable. But keep in mind that your growth comes over time, so you need to respect your body rhythm.
Learn From Setbacks and Failures
Of course, no one likes to fail, and it’s frustrating for most of us. Yet, not necessarily it is a bad thing.
Instead of facing failures with bitterness, consider it a chance to improve yourself. The past can be a great teacher in our lives; every life experience brings something to add. It’s important to extract good perspectives and new skills from them.
By understanding our mistakes, we can prevent future difficulties and reach new levels of success with it.
Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Starting a new goal isn’t easy. The uncertainties of the future scare us and we tend to doubt our own capabilities. Having people who believe in and support our objectives can be a determinant factor in our initiatives.
Knowing that there will always be someone to have your back makes us feel loved, besides boosting confidence and motivation. Having people who embrace your aims, are willing to help if and when you most need them, and, most importantly, are rooting for you is priceless.
Cut haters out of your life, you’ll never regret ceasing relationships with people who don’t even believe in you.
Reward Small Wins and Milestones
Do you acknowledge and appreciate when you succeed? Even when it comes to a small task on your list?
Significantly celebrating small wins and milestones is important not only for motivation, it creates momentum in your work that will boost your self-worth.
If you achieved the goal, reward your win by doing something you like. Don’t be rough on you, it’s okay to celebrate small victories.
Staying Committed to Your Goal-Setting Process
After setting goals, the true challenge comes. Staying committed is a decisive step in defining success or failure. It demands consistency, resilience, and planning. What does it take to complete aims? And how can you commit to accomplishing it?
Focus on Growth and Learning
Keep in mind that the goals you set are targeted at a better version of yourself. So take your time to enjoy the process, and focus on the things that you learn from them.
Don’t struggle with what you could have done right. Instead, look for understanding the past and learning from it. Make sure to consider your personal gains in abilities and morale instead of aiming only to complete every single task.
Appreciate Progress Over Perfection
The primary reason why people make personal and professional objectives is to develop some aspect of their lives. However, it is not uncommon to see people getting stuck on a cycle of redoing things, seeking perfect results.
Pursuing flawlessness on every single task on your list slows down every work in your schedule. Many goals are discontinued over time because of this endless pursuit.
Sometimes, it’s easy to start a task, but it turns out to be impossible to get it done since you keep going after an ideal result. Don’t expect perfection over work, focus on the progress is much more beneficial for your own sanity and success.
Goal Achievement Develops Character and Wisdom
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi.
Stepping out of the comfort zone it’s a major factor for our growth as humans. When set a goal, we are obligated to challenge our boundaries and be flexible to achieve our objectives.
Becoming an achiever requires effort, persistence, and energy. Assuming the responsibility for your own happiness and success is a major factor of maturity.
How to End Procrastination and Distraction
As time goes by, some people tend to stand by and make no progress. The reasons for it, as said before, are many. Some people lack focus on the current tasks; others simply procrastinate them as much as they can.
Considering all cases, we separated measures that might help you to concentrate deeply regularly.
Eliminate Time Wasters and Interruptions
Daily life is full of distractions, such as social media and loud noises. Some of them are out of our control, just like people talking to each other or the regular movement at the office.
Still, some attitudes may reduce the distractions that surround us.
- Silence alarms and notifications on your social media and apps that divert from your current task;
- Organize your workspace, reducing visual distractions can assist your focus;
- Use headphones with calming ambient music to cut down any external noise;
- Take a deep breath before starting. Focus on your breath before focusing on your work;
- Find the calmer ambient for you to work on your tasks.
Create a Detailed Plan and Schedule
Having an organized to-do list will spare you time and energy. Without visual planning, it’s easy to get lost and confused about what needs to be done.
Lack of organization is a real hindrance to focus. Take time to understand the most productive part of your day and dedicate this time to highly important activities.
Besides, don’t forget to note down daily activities and their time. Tangible tasks are organized tasks.
Hold Yourself Accountable to Others
Understanding that your part affects not only you, but others is an important step for responsibility. It’s important to consider how your actions and behaviors interfere with other’s life.
Acknowledging mistakes and taking ownership of them it’s a sign of maturity. Instead of finding excuses for errors, offer solutions and learn from them.
Look forward to asking for feedback on your performance; gathering constructive opinions over your progress can clarify your strengths and weaknesses.
Reward Yourself for Completed Tasks
Rewarding yourself can enhance motivation, and it is surely a positive way to reinforce good habits. Celebrate small conquers as you celebrate bigger ones: do something to please yourself.
Do a music break, go outside, eat a treat, practice some self-care… Those practices can brighten up your day and renew your energy for the next task.
Conclusion: How to set a goal and let go of the end result
Despite all the roadblocks we might face, we must keep working our way up the success.
With a simple change of attitude, such as new healthy habits, any resolution can be accomplished.
It must be hard at the beginning, as said. But each small task you set and accomplish will motivate you to move forward to the next. As soon as you notice, you’ll be living your dream life.
