3 Reasons Why Goal Setting Never Works For You

by Peter Murphy

Published on this site: June 23rd, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

Although goal setting is fundamental to achieving greater success and happiness, most people make the same goal setting mistakes.

Here are the three mistakes that can prevent you from having the success and happiness you deserve:

1. Setting goals that do not inspire you
   This is the biggest mistake I see people making. Instead of setting a goal to live in their dream home they instead aim a little lower and hope to pay the rent on time next month.
   
   This is a mistake because paying bills will never inspire you to get up early and stay up late. Getting by does not require you to be all you can be and in fact it tires you and leaves you feeling exhausted at the end of each day.
   
   
2. Trying to use money as a motivator
   A related mistake is focusing on money. It´s hard to get excited about numbers on a financial statement. Your intelligence will not let you work harder for the sake of improving a list of numbers.
   
   People who get a lot done rarely work just for the money. They have inspiring reasons to improve their lives and they use money as a tool to get things done and to get what they want. Money itself is not the ultimate goal.
   
   
3. Avoiding regular progress reviews
   The vast majority of people set goals once a year in January, forget about them and repeat the process 12 months later. This is a recipe for failure.
   
   Unless you review your goals and measure your progress or lack of it there is no way you can correct a lack of action or identify actions that are taking you further from your goals.
   
   The failure to plan leads to poor results while the failure to track your progress leads to frustration and the false hope that your dreams will come true.

What is the solution?

1. Set bigger goals that excite you, goals that you can see, hear and touch in your mind´s eye. Then, imagine these goals as real. This makes it much easier to hold in mind what you want and to make your dreams come true.
   
   
2. Aim to get things that exist in the world and to enjoy time with people you care about - use money as a facilitator that enables you to make these goals happen.
   
   Keep your attention on the ultimate end results and staying motivated become much easier. e.g. a beautiful home and happy family rather than a million bucks in the bank.
   
   
3. Finally, on a weekly and monthly basis track your progress against your most important goals. Unless you measure and assess your effectiveness you have no opportunity to adjust your approach when you are off track.

Objectively notice what you are doing well and what you are neglecting. Then make improvements to your approach as required.

Now, stop using goal setting the wrong way and start enjoying more success with these three powerful solutions to the most common goal setting mistakes.



Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report that reveals how to crush procrastination and sustain lasting motivation. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at:
http://www.getmotivatedstaymotivated.com/special.htm