The Reality of Goal-Work
No one has just one life goal. We want it all… excellent health, financial security, the dream job, healthy relationships, and a comfortable home. We want to feel fulfilled, purposeful, and confident. But… for most of us, even accomplishing one of these goals feels impossible, let alone maintaining it and moving on to another. We find ourselves feeling lost, overwhelmed, and like complete and utter failures.
I spent 30+ years trying to accomplish even the smallest goals. I read the books, joined the programs, signed up for the classes… I tried it all. And nothing worked!
Here's what I learned:
- Quick fix, all or nothing solutions don’t work. They’re impossible to maintain in the real world and lead to failure. Feeling like a failure all the time really sucks!
- Life is WAY too busy, demanding, and unpredictable for arbitrary timelines. It’s way disheartening to miss goal deadline after goal deadline.
- Motivation is fleeting. Getting and staying motivated just isn’t going to happen (and the science backs me up here… motivation is created by action, not the other way around).
- Self-discipline and willpower are code words for self-abuse and manipulation. Let’s all ignore our experiences and needs and just push through and force ourselves to do it anyway, shall we.
And even worse, when we fail to accomplish goals, it has a real impact in other areas of our lives that weren't even related to the original goal. From my own experience and through working with many clients over the years, here are some of the problems I've seen Goal Failure lead to:
- Self-defeatism
- Relationship problems
- Lack of confidence and self-esteem
- Lack of confidence and self-esteem
- Financial problems
- Shame and embarrassment
- Inhibition to try new things
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Lack of purpose
- Only 3% of people accomplish their goals.
- Only 8% of people who set New Years resolutions actually achieve them.
- People using Scheduled Action, Commitment, and Accountability techniques are successful 76% of the time at achieving their goals. Let's Look Into That!
Foundational Research On Goal Success:
A study conducted by Dr. Gail Matthews at Dominican University sought to find evidence for claims coming out of Harvard Business School that well-planned and well-written goals impact students’ performance and achievements.
In this study, participants were recruited from businesses and professional networking groups to take part. These participants were then divided into five groups:
- The first group set no goals and had no concrete plans.
- The second group set goals but did not prepare a plan to execute them.
- The third group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action to achieve them.
- The fourth group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action, then sent these to a supportive friend.
- The fifth group prepared well-defined goals and plans of action, then sent these to a supportive friend, together with weekly progress reports.
Results revealed that the fifth group, who had their goals written with concrete plans of action and drew on the support of a friend to hold them accountable, accomplished significantly more than all the other groups. This study serves to highlight the benefits of writing down goals and action plans, as well as the benefits of public commitment and accountability, as drivers of goal achievement and success in life.
The bottom line: People following Scheduled Action, Commitment, and Accountability techniques succeeded in accomplishing their goals 76% of the time.
Here's How it Works in Real Life:
As the study above, along with many more, shows - there is a specific approach to goal success that really works. And it's not a quick-fix or pie-in-the-sky solution. It involves creating a goal-system that is consistent, can become automated, and is easy to maintain in the real world. Working on this system, along with having accountability, is what leads to long-term success!
Sure… life gets busy, demanding, and unpredictable, but when your goal becomes part of your real, daily life it’s nearly impossible to lose sight of it.
Feeling inspired and proud of yourself, even on your busiest and most stressful days, will give you wins!
Confidently taking steps while you’re fired up from those wins will fuel future action.
Instead of trying to get or stay motivated, you'll already be motivated to continue - effortlessly. You'll never run out of steam again!
Then you'll listen to yourself, learn, and grow from the challenges you've faced, making adjustments as you go forward.
And you'll come to realize, the journey of pursuing your goals is more about becoming the best version of you and building the best relationship you can with yourself. You'll trade in self-discipline and willpower for self-awareness and authenticity.
This is what you'll get with my exclusive Small Step Method. This approach is the core of everything that I teach, especially Goal Mastery, because it works. Again and again!
