Why You Are Not Meeting Your Goals - 11 Reasons

Setting a goal is the easiest part, and defining its specifics, developing a plan of action, removing all obstacles on the way, and, accordingly, achieving the goal itself is a much more difficult task.

Former US President Theodore Roosevelt, during one of his addresses to the people, said: "You should not do what does not imply effort, pain and difficulties."

It would be easy to blame people for failing to make their dreams come true because they are afraid to experience pain if they fail. There must be more to failure to achieve a goal than a fear of failure.

Here are the reasons why we don’t always succeed in completing our plan, and some helpful tips on how to turn the tide in your favor.

1. Focusing not on effort, but on reward

Thinking about the desired victory if the goal is achieved is certainly very exciting: "Guys, I just can't wait for my promotion" or "I will look absolutely stunning on the beach this summer." Finding motivation at the beginning of the journey is always easy, since the first thing we think about is a successful end result.

However, there are differences in how we perceive the state of affairs when we are just going to start performing a task, and at the moment of the immediate start of work on it. The solution to this problem lies in the fact that even from the stage of planning the goal, we need to distract ourselves from thoughts of the reward as often as possible and remind ourselves of the work ahead.

2. Your goals are unrealistic or uncertain

Perhaps you want to write a bestseller or become a rising YouTube star with all your heart. Well, this is very commendable, and there is nothing wrong with such desires, but what exactly are you going to do so that your dreams do not remain just dreams?

If you've never read a book or written anything longer than a social media post, creating a bestselling novel is nearly impossible. Likewise, just talking about you wanting to be a popular blogger won't get you anywhere.

Define your goals concretely, and set less ambitious goals along the way, such as "join the writers' group" or "make one new video a week."

3. You take too much on yourself.

In principle, having multiple targets at the same time is not a bad thing. However, sometimes there are so many of them that there is simply no way to give priority to any of them, and this, of course, will not lead to a satisfactory result.

Some of us like to think that multitasking is the key to success, but science says otherwise. Be more attentive and do not overload yourself, learn to prioritize, and then you will quickly achieve what you want.

4. Careless planning negates all efforts.

Almost any goal requires at least a little planning. If you do not work out the steps that will get you from point A to point B, then most likely you will not be able to get to the finish line.

Perhaps you want to grow your business's customer base by 30 percent by next year. Ask yourself what steps you need to take to do this? Do you need to hire more employees, do you need to implement new strategies? It is by asking such questions and directly finding answers to them throughout the entire process that will help you successfully plan your plan of action.

5. Forgetting the "why" factor

Let's say you have to move to a new city for work, while moving your entire family. Almost certainly, some of your family members will begin to resent such drastic changes. When the inevitable question “why?” Arises in their heads, you can simply say that the move is necessary because of getting a new job. But that's the point. This is just one of the reasons, but not the answer to their “why?” Question.

Perhaps the move will provide the family with a higher income or a secure existence in a more comfortable environment. When it comes to achieving a specific goal, we often forget why we wanted to achieve it at all. Therefore, it is so important to remember about the “why” factor, which pushed you to change.

6. Excuses and excuses

Everyone comes up with excuses or reasons from time to time that the plan to achieve the goal does not work. And that is often much easier than just continuing to push forward.

When it comes to giving up on a task, excuses are very convenient: they convince not only those around you, but yourself that the case was initially doomed to failure, and you really could not do anything to fix it. If you feel like you’re about to quit, ask yourself if you have a good reason for doing so. Or is it just an excuse you made up?

7. Fear of failure

Putting a target back in the back for fear of failure is a paralyzing factor that can seriously hold you back in all aspects of your life. Fear of failure is understandable: it often stems from a need for perfectionism and a desire to be in control.

However, risk aversion is not the best way to go through life. Therefore, it is so important to observe where exactly your fears and fears originate, and learn to overcome them.

8. Failure to anticipate obstacles

Your brilliant goal, as it seemed to you, with a perfectly thought-out plan, in fact, will certainly not correspond to your idea of it. Of course, there will be difficulties and problems that need to be addressed - this is how the universe works.

Try to develop fallback strategies in case you feel like you are losing motivation or are about to run into obstacles. Having a plan B is almost always a must.

9. There is no set deadline

Whether it's trying to learn a new skill or becoming an industry tycoon, be sure to set a deadline for yourself to complete the task. It has been proven that you are 42% more likely to reach a goal if you write it down and set a time frame for reaching it.

Setting a deadline for the completion of any work will serve you as a constant incentive to complete it, and also teach you how to properly manage your time.

10. You allow others to doubt your goals.

The larger the goal, the more you and the people around you will doubt the reality of achieving it. Allowing skeptics to frustrate your efforts will ultimately end up believing in the task at hand.

Don't let other people's doubts get the better of you, instead use all negativity as fuel for fire, focus on your own opinion, and move on.

11. Procrastination delays your progress.

Of all the possible reasons why we cannot achieve what we want, procrastination is probably the most dangerous. It is easy to promise yourself to start moving towards your goal tomorrow or next Monday, but often this “later” never comes.

According to the Harvard Business Review, one of the best ways to beat procrastination is through public commitment. Most people don't want to seem like lazy losers, and by telling others they are going to do something big, they strengthen their brain's focus on the task at hand.

Thus, we have found that achieving goals is not easy, requiring a lot of time and a lot of physical and mental investment. Now you know the reasons why people fail so often, and you can increase your chances of successfully fulfilling your desires.