The Top 3 Reasons You Aren’t Achieving Your Goals And What To Do About It
Have you ever wondered why you don’t achieve your goals? Do you have a goal that you really want to achieve, but for whatever reason find yourself not taking action? Perhaps you are taking action, but you’re just not getting the results you want? Believe it or not, this is really common! If you are looking to solve this problem once and for all, I have some good news for you. Here are the top three reasons why you aren’t achieving your goals, and what to do about it:
Reason #1 – You Don’t Have a Powerful Reason Why
The #1 reason why you aren’t achieving your goals is that you don’t have a strong enough purpose or reason why you must achieve your goal. Let me give you a quick example. I want you to imagine that I’m going to challenge you to be in a position to write a me a check for a million dollars within the next month, and not worry about giving me that money. How likely is it that you’d be able to do that? If you are like most people, that’s just not going to happen.
Now I want you to imagine a slightly different scenario. Imagine for a second that the person closest to you in life calls you up today, and tells you that they have some terrible news for you. They’ve been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and they have a month to live, and there is nothing anyone can do for them. Shortly after you hear this horrible news, you get a call from me. I tell you that I have some great news for you. I actually have the cure for your loved ones’ cancer, but in order to get it from me, you need to come up with one million dollars, and get the money to me before the end of the month, or your loved one will die. Now how likely is it that you’ll get the money? If you are like most people, you’ll do anything to make it happen!
That is the power of purpose! You see, we don’t achieve what we want to, or what we wish to, but rather what we must do or have. Therefore, if you don’t have a strong enough reason to achieve your goal, most likely you’re not going to.
Coach’s Tip:
If you want to make sure that you absolutely achieve your goals, then what you need to do is to write down all the reasons achieving that goal is a must for you. Here are some questions that will help:
Why is this a must for me?
What will happen if I don’t achieve my goal?
How will I benefit from achieving my goal? Who else will benefit?
What will it cost me if I don’t make this happen?
How will I feel once I make this happen?
If you write down an extensive list of why you want to achieve your goal, and what makes it a must for you, and then read it daily, I think you’ll find yourself super motivated to make it happen!
Reason #2 – Your Goal Isn’t Big Enough
I want you to imagine a scenario. There are two people, Jim and Julie, that I’m going to hire to work for me. Jim is going to come to work for me, and I’m going to make him work 80 hours/week, with no breaks, for an entire year. At the end of that time, I’m going to write Jim a check for $50,000. Julie is also going to work for me for 80 hours/week, with no breaks, for an entire year, but at the end of that time, I’m going to write her a check for $500,000, and make her a 50% partner in my multimillion dollar business. Who do you think, Jim or Julie, is more likely to succeed?
I think you get my point here. If you set goals that don’t excite you, and don’t give you butterflies in your stomach, then you probably aren’t going to achieve them. The reality is that if the payoff isn’t large enough, once you hit a road block or things get tough, then you’re probably going to quit. So, you need to set goals that inspire you, and are large enough to get you out of your comfort zone and motivate you to work towards the payoff.
Coach’s Tip:
If you really want to make sure that you’re going to hit your goal, then make sure you do the following:
- Set a goal large enough that your excited to achieve it! This means setting goals that are just outside of your comfort zone, and ones that have a big payoff to achieving them.
- Set SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Keep in mind that a goal without a deadline isn’t a goal at all, it’s a dream.
- Enroll others in your success. If you are the only person that knows what your goal is, there’s no one to hold you accountable to it! I always say that if no one knows about it, then it’s not really a goal at all. The more people you enroll in your success, the more likely it will be that you achieve it.
Reason #3 – You Aren’t Aligning Your Actions With Your Intentions
The final reason that you probably aren’t achieving your goals is that you don’t have a plan that aligns your daily actions with your goal or intention. For example, if your goal is to lose 20 pounds, but you don’t schedule in time to hit the gym and make healthy meals on a consistent basis, then it’s not going to happen. I have a saying that if it’s not on the calendar, it’s not going to get done, and that’s certainly true here.
Coach’s Tip:
Once you set your goal and you have a strong purpose behind it, break down your goal into small, executable action steps, and write them down. Then, next to each step, put a priority next to each one, along with the amount of time that you estimate it will take. Now, simply schedule each of these items on your calendar, and then follow through on them. This is also a great time to think about additional resources that you might be able to leverage for each step to make it easier to achieve your goal. Perhaps there is someone you can delegate to, or someone that has an expertise in that specific area that can help you. Successful people never do it all on their own, so if you can leverage some other resources, this can be tremendously helpful!
So, there you have it. The top three reasons that you aren’t hitting your goals. If you take action on each one of these areas, I guarantee that you’ll exponentially increase your chances of hitting your goals on a consistent basis!