First week of the first month for this new year is the right moment for us to check and evaluate if we have set our goals correctly. Setting goals is very important for us, not only as a personal but also as a leader. Goal-setting will help us to achieve the things we want in life and in our professional career and to achieve our full potential as human being. Furthermore, having goals will help us to focus and know whatever direction we desire to go. However, we need to make sure that we will achieve our goals. Research conducted by the University of Scranton showed that 92 percent of people who set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them. Research showed that 20 percent of the population that does set goals, roughly 70 percent fail to achieve the goals they have set for themselves.
Douglas Vermeeren, the author of book “Amazing Success” explained 10 reasons why people fail to achieve their goals:
- Fear of Success and/or Failure – Some people because they are afraid that they will fail or succeed, don’t bother trying to attain a goal.
- Lack of Understanding about the Goal-Setting Process – Many people mistakenly believe that goal setting simply means putting a goal on paper, setting a date for its completion, marking off checkpoints as they occur, and then starting all over again
- Lack of Commitment to the Goal – Some people not really committed to their goals though they say that they want to achieve it
- Inactivity – Some people after setting a goal, writing down dates, and setting checkpoints, they just simply stop. They never actually take that first step needed to progress toward their goal
- Analysis Paralysis – Some people believe that they can’t start on a goal until they have all the answers to every “what if” scenario.
- Lack of a Real Destination – Some people often begin setting goals without a solid destination in regards to who they want to become or what they ultimately want to achieve
- Failing to Plan – Many people understand the basic formula for goal setting, but they don’t have a plan for goal attainment that’s personalized to them and their experiences
- Having Too Many Goals – Some people have too many goals and not enough focus
- Feeling Unworthy of the End Result – Some people really don’t believe they’re worthy of attaining a given goal
- Lack of Motivation to Change – Many people are satisfied with what they have and where they are in life. They don’t explore what else is available or what greater things they could achieve
Goals have two categories to consider: “be” goals and “do” goals. For effective goal setting, it is not enough if we just decide what we want to do, we also have to work to accomplish whatever goal we have set.
Locke and Latham explained five principles to have successful goal-setting:
- Clarity – Our goals need clear, specific and measurable
- Challenge – Our goals need to be relevant, important and challenging
- Commitment – Our goals need to be understood and accepted by all
- Feedback – make sure that we have methods to measure the success and feedback for all the efforts to achieve our goals
- Task complexity – we need to make our goals more complex but not confusing
We have to make sure whatever goals we have set, not just goals written on paper, but we know how to accomplish it.
Luke 14:28-29 – Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him
Thank you for reading and Happy New Year