Photo credit: Joel Servant
Goals. Everyone’s got’em. Most people aren’t reaching them; but why?
Here are a few reasons you might not be reaching your goals, and some simple steps to making your goal setting more effective…
They’re too vague.
Goals need to be specific in order to be actionable and measurable. Goals like “eat clean,” “get more sleep,” “be more consistent” may motivate you for a grand total of :30, but after the initial gumption of setting that haphazard goal has faded away, you’ll likely find yourself circling back and setting that same goal some months later.
Instead, set goals like “eat 3 (kinds, or even cups of) vegetables a day,” “lights out by 9pm.,” or “move my body for 30 min or more 4x/week, Mondays and Wednesdays as consistent/non-negotiable days.”
*The more specific your goals, the quicker you can measure them and the easier it will be to accomplish them.
They’re too lofty, for the moment.
Big goals are awesome. If you identify with the goal and are willing to work toward it, by all means, get after it. But if your current backsquat is 65 lbs and you set a goal of 300lbs (someday?), you’ll likely feel discouraged, a lot, along the way and lose steam in pursuing it. Going for 0-100 in a day’s time doesn’t do much for creating consistent habits. If anything, it can completely overhaul your “norm” leading you to feeling overwhelmed and incapable of continuing at that same pace.
If you’re on a health journey to lose 100 lbs, start with focusing on the first 5. Try not to obsess over the bigger goal, just chip away, slowly but surely, and you’ll get there.
*Set smaller, incremental, attainable goals in order to build confidence and continuous buy-in for the long term goal.
They don’t mean anything to you/there’s no buy-in.
Not every goal has to “mean something,” but when it comes to life changing goals, if there’s no “why”, it’s going to be more challenging to take clear and effective steps in pursuing it.
WHY do you want to eat better? How would the quality of your life change if you got more sleep? How would the quality of your relationships get better if they were centered around activities that made you healthier? What does your future look like, if you DON’T reach your goal?
More often than not, what we see is people often set specific goals, with a perfect game plan, but the goal doesn’t actually mean anything, so they stop pursuing it. Which is actually ok too in many cases! Knowing whether or not what you’re pursuing matters, can help you to reassess your priorities, and zero in on what really matters.
If you’re obsessing over a snatch PR, getting muscle ups, or needing to lose X amount of lbs “just because;” ask yourself why it matters. Sometimes it’s a matter of digging a little deeper and figuring out the “why” behind the goal you’ve set. If it’s important to you because it’s moving you toward a bigger, more substantial goal, great. Keep after it. But if its “just because,” consider putting your valuable and precious focus on something that will “change the game” more; like sleep, nutrition, quality of relationships, recovering/calming your nervous system, etc.
Many times our goals can be met not by doing more of something we’re already doing, but by finding better balance and doing more of something else.
*Dig into figuring out why you want what you say you want, and ask yourself if you’re willing to sacrifice whatever “gets in the way” of the goal. If you’re not willing to sacrifice, then consider setting a different goal, or just not acting like what you say you want, is actually something you want more than whatever stands between you and the goal. 🙃
Want help setting goals that matter, and stick?! Reach out. We love to help people who want to be helped!
Pro tip: set goals/resolutions BEFORE the new year/it’s “convenient.” ;) there will never be a convenient time to make change, you create the opportune time!