Are you Making these big Mistakes of Goal Setting?

Goal Setting! It’s a wonderful thing. All you got to do is to set a goal and your life is guaranteed to succeed. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

But wait a minute, I thought goal setting is all the rage? All I got to do is set a goal, everything becomes clear and all my next steps instantly appear.
I guess that is possible, but you must avoid the big mistakes of goal setting.

What about your big goals that haven’t materialised yet? Most likely they will provide you with a very positive pay-off and be good for you and all those around you. But, is it just a walk in the park when you pursue your goals or are there challenges to overcome? You have probably already encountered many challenges already, which is normal. Otherwise, you would have everything you ever wanted. by now.

But, what are these challenges?
Well, there is a huge variety of them. They can be physical, mental, spiritual and they will differ from person to person and from goal to goal. Knowing the specific details of the challenges is nice, but what really matters is having the ability to consistently navigate around whatever might come up.

There are many scenarios where challenges will occur, and the first scenario is not having a clear target or goal. If you have no idea as to what your target and goal is, how can you possibly know if (or when) you reach it? How can you even start to plan a path to get there?

The second mistake is not having a clear plan or road map in hand. Your goal is destined to remain in this dream state where you will never take the specific steps towards it.

The third mistake is failing to track your progress. You have a great goal and a detailed plan, but you do not have a system in place to evaluate if your plan is working or if you are even following your plan. All plans require that you follow them in order to create any value and most likely they will also need course corrections. Once you start on your path to success, you will discover new information that you didn’t know about before and your plan will need to be updated.

Lastly, the final big mistake is not having an outside means of accountability. Something that checks up on you to verify you are making progress towards your goal. Like a mentor, or a peer group.

Now that we know some of the mistakes where goal setting fails, what is the biggest mistake of goal setting? Simply put, it is not having a system in place that ensures that you follow through on all the critical steps of your planned goal setting. The good news is, once you set up your system, you can use it for all your goals.

First, your system needs to consistently remind you what your target or goal is. Many goals are abandoned because they were put off so many times, that thinking about them only reminds you of all the time that has been wasted.

Second, your system needs to track your progress. This enables you to make the necessary course corrections. Not only will it ensure you arrive at your goal, it also provides you with motivation by revealing all the progress you are making on the way.

Finally, your system needs an OUTSIDE means of accountability. Something that checks up on you to make sure you have a clear target, you are following your plan, tracking your progress, and making the needed course corrections.

Avoid the biggest mistakes of goal setting! Develop a system that will guarantee you will follow through, no matter the goal, no matter the obstacle. Your goals are waiting, and success is sure to be yours.