It’s that time of the year when everyone is creating their New Year’s Resolutions, creating plans for the the next year, feeling energized and motivated to do it all. And you know what, I’m all about it. I think it’s so important to have goals, not only for your business, but just in life all around. Having something to work towards, achieved and look forward to is so important for so many reasons.
As I was reflecting on my past year in 2018, I had a few goals that I didn’t achieve. So I wanted to make sure that I achieved them this year, so I did some research and wrote this blog post for you all just in case you might have something left on your goal list for 2019 that you want to achieve once and for all.
- You had too many goals
Your brain can only process so many goals without feeling fatigue and hello overwhelm. Here is an article by Forbes that also talks about this. When you are writing out your goals, you might find that some of those goals are actually just steps to accomplishing a goal. The biggest takeaway from this, is to get super clear on your goals and decipher what is a goal and what is a step towards your goal. It will not only help you take action and gain momentum, but will actually help you in achieving your goal, and prevent you from constantly trying to figuring out strategies along the way. This is a great way to cut down on having too many goals to achieve and streamline your year.
2. You didn’t believe you could achieve them
Now this is deep. But it’s true. Is there a goal on your list that has been on your list year after year? No shame in admitting this, but think about the why. Why is it on your list year after year? Perhaps because you don’t think the goal is actually possible. Chances are, you might have some limiting belief holding you back, or maybe you’re fully conscious of it and are just hoping you will magically, somehow reach your goal.
Some ways to break through this would be to examining how you feel about each goal. If you are writing them down and have a slight tinge of nervousness enter your body, or that pesky little voice saying ‘Yeah right”, it is time to start working through why you don’t believe it is possible. Some additional tools to help are to take your limiting beliefs and make them positive affirmations that you write down everyday, or say out loud to yourself, or better yet, both. Bottom line, you have to train yourself to believe that you can achieve your goals if you experience limiting beliefs around achieving your goals.
3. You didn’t create an actionable framework
This is my favorite step when it comes to goal setting. This is where you would break things down so you are doing a little bit each day to create sustainable, consistent action. Otherwise, you will break down and feel overwhelmed, and then really not meet your goal. You know the saying, “ How do you eat an elephant?…one bite at a time”. It’s a weird quote, but the point is clear. This somewhat ties into pont #1 a bit. Often times, we have too many goals with zero clear steps on how to get there. We don’t always need to know what comes next, but we need to know at least a few of those steps so we can get started.
4. They were on your goal list last year
SO this point isn’t what you might think. It’s totally ok to have the same goals on your list if you didn’t achieve them the previous year-hello weight loss goal- because you want to actually achieve it! But the point here is that your subconscious mind and habits are already programmed for you to fail at a goal that you’ve previously not achieved. This is why it’s so powerful to make sure that you believe you truly can. Here is a great article that explains the science behind failing.
5. You were not in alignment with who you want to be
Some may say this point is, “Woo Woo”, but it’s not really. It’s a dose of tough love and requires a little look inward. The truth is, sometimes we say we want things, but don’t actually want them, because it’s not how we actually live our lives. For example, if your goal is to go for a jog every night, but instead you come home and watch netflix for 3 hours instead. You are not in alignment with your goal, or the person who you want to be. Check your behavior and make sure that it’s in alignment with what you want to accomplish. I generally always know if I’m in alignment with who I want to be, because when I start to veer off the path, my physical and mental response is anxiety. I literally get anxious because I know I’m not doing what I should be doing to achieve my goals and the life I want to live. Pay attention to how your actions and behavior make you feel when it comes to who you want to be and why you want to reach your goals.
6. Your “why” Is Only About You
Often times, we make goals that are all self serving- which is kinda the point to an extent, but make sure you get all the way down to the “why” underneath your goal. Generally, the surface reason is not strong enough to see you through to the finish line and not really meaningful. A great example is “I want to make more money”, but the why underneath that could be “ I want to make more money so I can work less, and travel the world with my husband so we can have incredible adventures together”, or “I want to make more money so I can feel less stressed and give more freely to charity.” You can feel the difference in that. Find your “why” behind your goal and make sure it’s not just about you and has deep meaning to your life.
7. Analysis paralysis-
Getting stuck on the how or allowing yourself to get overwhelmed. This is why having only a few focused goals are key, as well as having an action plan. It’s ok not to know every single step, oftentimes the next step or strategy will reveal itself once you get started versus researching your way into analysis paralysis and not knowing what to do first. Just starting is the key to avoid this. Stop Googling, and just start doing!
8. You didn’t write your goals down
Your school teachers didn’t have you write your multiplication tables over and over for nothing. And I don’t know about you, but in college, I just couldn’t get into taking notes on my laptop. I knew I wasn’t retaining the information the same way. That pen to paper action is magic in your brain and you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals just by simply writing them down. Of course there is science on this and you can read about a study regarding all the reasons how and why here. But, just trust me on this one.
9. Your Goals Are To BIG
I want to tread lightly on this because anything can happen and I’ve had years where I accomplished BIG goals and it was honestly a miracle, but you want to make sure you are not setting yourself up for failure. An example might be, I want to make, $150k, even though the most you’ve ever made was 50K. Or, “I want to lose 100 pounds in 4 months”. These things CAN happen, but given how big the goal is, you don’t want to set yourself up for failure. The goal can still be to lose the 100 pounds, but maybe stretching that out over 12 months. Or if you really want to triple your income, why not first set your goal to double your income. After all, your goals should be sustainable and something that you should grow with into the next year, just in time to set new goals.
10. You didn’t get specific Enough
Get super specific on your goals. For example, if one of your goals is to “be happier”, that is going to be hard to measure for your success. You need to know what a baseline looks like, and you will need to have a way to know when you have achieved your goal. Otherwise, you will fizzle out and get frustrated and start to believe that maybe you can’t reach your goal. So I would suggest unpacking that overarching goal and get specific.
I hope that these tips help you have a productive year, full of smashing your goals and getting closer to whatever it is that you want to have out of life. Let me know what tip was a light bulb moment for you in the comments below.
XOXO,
Cristin
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