What Separates Those Who Reach Their Goals and Those Who Don’t?
I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but most people don’t reach their goals.
Think about this for a second, every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States. Getting a high school diploma is one of the most basic goals. In fact, it’s an expectation for nearly every single American.
- For the most part it’s free.
- There is a significant amount of structure.
- Generally speaking, all you have to do is what you’re told and show up.
Yet, about 25% of high school freshmen fail to reach this goal in the four years they are given and 6% drop out completely. Imagine the success rate of those pursuing goals that are significantly more difficult than getting a high school diploma and cost a significant amount of money.
Imagine pursuing a goal that has no boundaries and no requirements to show up. We can use graduating from college as an example. The college dropout rate is about 50% whereas the high school dropout rate is 6%. That’s a big jump!
If nearly 50% of people drop out of college, what percentage of people would you guess fail at pursuing goals that have less structure than college? There is no way of knowing for sure, but would you think 80% was too high? How about 90%?
Based on just the people you know (friends, family, social and professional networks), would it surprise you if 99% of them fail at reaching their goals?
- We all know a handful of people who set a goal to lose weight. These people may or may not lose it in the short term. And if they do, 4 years later they are right back where they started.
- We also all know another handful of people who have set a goal to pursue their passions or start a business. Sometimes they take the first step, and often that’s the only step.
The bottom line is that pursuing goals is hard. Maybe 1 out of 100 people we know achieve difficult goals that take multiple years of consistency to achieve. So, the question is what separates that 1 person from everyone else?
What You Value Most is What Decides Your Future
The reality is that your future has nothing to do with your goals. Literally, after you finish reading this, the very next thing you do is 100% dependent on your values not your goals. If you value rest, you may take a nap. If you value comfort, you may eat some comfort food. Get the picture?
Goals are outcomes, values are behaviors. Simply put, you can’t wish your way to a goal, you can’t “sad” your way to a goal, and you can’t “anger” your way to a goal. You must behave your way there. Moreover, values define how you will behave regardless of the outcome.
Correspondingly, self-motivation comes from values. Resilience comes from values. Self-control comes from values. Discipline comes from values. Mental toughness comes from values. Work ethic comes from values. Integrity comes from values.
What separates those who reach their goals and those who don’t are values. Everything in life comes down to how your values guide you to make the next thing you do a behavior that either helps you or hurts you.