What Stops People From Keeping The Goals They Set?

Most people are quite good at setting goals for themselves. Those who are interested in goal setting will learn the different goal setting techniques and strategies, and then use what they learn to create goals in many different areas of their life.

Knowing how to set a goal properly however doesn’t guarantee that you will achieve it, as there are many different factors which can affect your goal setting success.

This is a frustration lots of people experience, because despite setting goals the right way, they find it difficult to keep the goals they have set.

In this article on goal setting we are going to have a look at some of these factors that stop people from keeping the goals they set.

This is important because once you are aware of this information, you can then avoid making the same mistakes when setting and achieving your goals.

Why Do People Fail At Setting Goals?

After studying the field of self improvement for many years, one of the biggest realisations I have had is that everyone is personally responsible for their own actions and how their life currently is.

If we apply this theme of responsibility to goal setting, we can examine the first major reason why people fail to keep the goals they set; themselves.

Put simply, the reason why most people fail to keep or achieve their goals is because of a lack of action on their behalf.

Some people don’t even bother to set any goals at all, whilst others set detailed and specific goals but then don’t do anything to achieve those goals.

Taking action, regardless of how big or small, is absolutely critical to goal setting success, because if you don’t take the first step you will never go anywhere.

Goal Setting One Step At A Time

No matter how large your goals are, there will always be a series of steps you will need to take to accomplish your goal. All goals can therefore only be accomplished by taking that first step.

However the first step is always the most difficult, because it takes time to gain momentum before you get into the swing of things.

For a large majority of people this difficulty can be enough to scare them off from goal setting, and cause them not to take any action towards their goal. As a result, many people give up before they have even started.

Those who are able to make the first step and continue the goal setting process, will face similar difficulties to when they first began.

This is because it is not until you have completed a series of goal setting steps will things start to get easier for you.

This is why so many people give up in the initial stages of goal setting, because for whatever reason, they feel that they cannot cope with the difficulties that lie ahead of them.

What this all means is that if you are able to complete the first few steps of the goal you have set for yourself, your chances of successfully completing that goal will skyrocket.

Because after completing the first few steps you build up momentum, and it is much harder to stop doing something once it is in motion.

So to increase your chance of keeping the goals you set, don’t give in at the start and keep your mind focused on the end result.

Goal Setting Motivation

One of the reasons it is important to learn about goal setting, is so that you know how to set goals effectively.

If you set the wrong type of goal, you will simply not be motivated to achieve it and so will most likely never do anything about it.

If however you can set goals which excite you, you will be motivated to start working on that goal because you strongly desire the end result.

This motivation will also help you to continue the goal setting process through difficult times, because if you want something badly enough, you will tend to think in a long term perspective and so will not be distracted by short term pain.

Motivation is the spark that gets goal setting going, so unless your goals really excite you, then you probably won’t ever achieve them.

Other People & Goal Setting

Whilst the single biggest reason people fail to achieve their goals is themselves, another significant factor is the people they have in their life.

Some people may be pleased to hear about your goals, and may even encourage or support you. These are great people to have in your life, because no matter how strong you are inside, there will always be times when you need the help of others.

Unfortunately however the majority of people in your life will not be happy that you are trying to better things for yourself. In fact, some people will even resent you for working towards a goal and may even try to sabotage it.

This is because most people only think about themselves, and seeing other people who are more successful than they are makes them feel inadequate.

As a result they become jealous, and will try to put you down so that you remain at the same level as them or lower.

This is why you should be very careful when setting goals who you tell about your goals. If you know people who have your best interest at heart then by all means tell them, and use their positive energy to empower your goal setting.

However for those energy vampires out there who love to see other people fail, keep your goal setting plans away from them because they will only make things more difficult for you.