Two Goal Setting Mistakes Stopping You from Reaching Your Goals
Goal setting mistakes are common. So common that I often find that people will set a goal today only to forget about it in less than a month. In my experience, I see two overarching reasons for this type of mismanagement of goals.
First and foremost, there is a tendency to set goals that don’t provide daily motivation. For example, while the idea of being a millionaire is motivating, setting a goal to be a millionaire won’t motivate you to do what it takes when you wake up each day to become a millionaire. Being and doing are very different types of motivation. Doing may or may not be motivating once you get into the details of what doing really means.
Therefore, to be sure a goal provides daily motivation it must be a short-term goal that focuses on doing things you are willing and able to do. This does not mean you shouldn’t set long-term goals to provide direction for short-term goals. This only means that long-term goals do not provide you with the energy to act each morning. Short-term goals that provide motivation are goals that are attainable within a few weeks using your current skills. Practically, this means setting short-term goals to develop new skills using your current skills. (i.e., set goals with a goal progression)
Secondly, people make the mistake of setting goals without guard rails to help them self-regulate their behavior. For a goal to do this it must be specific and have a specific action plan with due dates. When a goal follows these guidelines it’s easy to evaluate progress and lack there-off. In turn, the ability to evaluate progress then leads to the awareness of the need to self-regulate behavior.
When you don’t have an action plan you are kidding yourself if you think you will reach your goal. There is no accountability, and when there is no accountability you can’t regulate your behavior. Unquestionably, behavior regulation is the only way you can achieve a meaningful goal.
In conclusion, if a goal setting process does not provide you with these two benefits, then you are making a mistake. Ultimately, motivating yourself and regulating your behavior so you can make progress is the main reason for setting goals. So, it’s important that every goal you create includes these two benefits.