Why Are Your Goals Failing?
Have you ever set goals for yourself at the start of a new year, only to break them soon after? Have you ever promised yourself to lose weight, organize your books, stay consistent on social media, and update your website - only to horribly fail?
If you're like me, you're not alone. Every year, I take time to reflect on what I could have done better and set goals I'm confident I can achieve. More often than I care to admit, those goals end up in a forgotten notebook or worst, abandoned by the end of January.
There are three main reasons why this happens.
When goals aren’t connected to routines, they become words without action. I can’t expect different results by doing the same things. Goals must be broken down into small steps. Changes that don't require too much effort. They must be easy. So easy, it's a no-brainer to keep up with them.
For example, if my goal is to read 12 books a year, it would be more achievable to read 10 minutes every night before bed, than one book a month. Not being specific about when and where makes it harder to stay on track. This is why many goals last a few months and then get forgotten.
“They must be easy.
So easy, it's a no-brainer
to keep up with them.”
I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear to help you get started.
The second reason why goals might fail is a lack of purpose.
If a goal doesn’t help us become who we want to be, or falls short of it, it becomes pointless. This often happens when we copy other people’s goals, and because it's easier, we adopt them as our own.
For a long time, my financial goal was to make 5k monthly. It seemed like a good goal, but what I really wanted was to not worry about money. To get to a point where I could stop worrying about bills, debts and Christmas presents… and after doing the math, 5k was just a number.
If I had put more thought into it, I would have realized that it was more about saving money than hitting 5K. Because even if you make 5k but spend 4k, you STILL WORRY about money.
The third reason we forget goals is because we keep them out of sight.
You know the saying… “ Out of sight, out of mind.” This is one of the most common mistakes we make, and it is the easiest to correct. Visuals, journaling, daily affirmations, and night visualization, are all great tools to keep your goals on top of mind. Some people also create moodboards they keep as wallpapers on their screens, which is such a great idea!!
So, where should you start? I suggest auditing your life and habits first.
Asking yourself who do I want to become, What do I want out of life? Am I doing anything on daily basis to achieve these goals? This is as important as setting the goals themselves. Otherwise, they will lack direction, and sooner or later you'll realize it was silly to make all the effort to achieve a goal that wasn’t aligned with a better version of yourself.
Are there things you'd like to change?
Behaviors you'd like to reinforce?
Relationships you might want to strengthen?
Evaluate every aspect of your life. Health, family, finances, career, mindset - how are you doing in all these areas?
Once you have an idea of what you want to work on, ask yourself why.
How will changing help you get closer to your dream life?
Or are you only wanting these, because it is what you are supposed to want them?
Remember, your life is yours.
Don’t let anyone live it for you.
If you don’t want kids, don’t want to be married, don’t want to own a house, and hate the idea of sitting at a desk to make money, GO FOR IT. Design the life that makes you excited. The life that scares the hell out of you. The life you want to wake up for that makes you proud.
So, how's it going? Is this helping get you in the mood to brainstorm about your future self? I hope so! Until then, I want you to ask yourself:
Are you creating the life of your dreams?
If not, why not start now?
IF YOU FOUND SOMETHING INSPIRING, INTRIGUING, OR ENCOURAGING IN THIS JOURNAL ENTRY—I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW!
Send me a message in the DMs or contact me to inquire about working together. I can’t wait to keep the conversation going.
