Struggling to Reach Those Goals?

Your Whole Life is One Long Process of Goal Setting

Every day you have another chance to hit the regular ones like getting to work or getting the kids to school on time.

It's not as if you don't know how to set goals, or to achieve them, so why do you always find it so difficult to reach the significant goals in your life?

Let's look at that goal of getting the kids to school on time:

All parents know that what seems to outsiders like a simple task is in fact a well planned military operation that includes lots of small goals that contribute to the main one:

Will the alarms go off at the right time?

Will they respond to the alarm, or to your calling them?

How long will they take in the bathroom?

Do they have clean school clothes?

Do you have everything you need for breakfast?

Will they want to go today, or will you have tantrums or sickness to contend with?

Did they do their homework and do they know where it is?

Do they need any special equipment — sports kit, cooking ingredients, art folder?

And all this is on a normal day, before you ever leave the house and have to contend with whether the car will start, and what the traffic will be like.

But usually it works out okay, and they get to the school gates in time with the things they need for the day.

Getting to work or doing the grocery shopping also involve this multiple small goals approach, and they seems to work out okay as well.

Apply these same methods to all your life's goals and you can be confident you'll reach them.

Know What Goal You’re Aiming For

Taking the kids to school gives you a very clear goal to aim for — getting one or more people to a specific place (or places) ... by a stated time (arrive late and you get hassle from the teachers AND the kids) ... knowing why they are there (how many times have you answered this one?) ... and having all the resources they need to get through the day (books, lunch, sports kit).

Do you give as much attention to your significant life goals?

be specific about exactly what you want to achieve (I want to get 3 kids to 2 schools)

be clear about when you want to achieve it by (I must drop the last one off by 8.45 am)

know why you're doing it (they need to go to school to gain skills and knowledge for their future)

be realistic (I know it's actually possible to get the kids to school, even though every day brings a new set of challenges to be met)

be able to recognize when you've achieved it (the car's empty — goal!!!)

know what resources you need (today we need Jamie's football kit and Susan's art folder)

How can you expect to hit a goal if you can't see the goal posts, haven't got a ball, or even a reason to be in the game?

How Far Are You Willing to Stretch to Your Goal?

Your life’s goals should challenge you and make you grow as a person. A goal that you can achieve without any real effort doesn't do this, but many people are conservative in the goals they set, maybe because they're unsure whether they can achieve them, and don't want to be disappointed.

Set goals that fall short of where you really want to be, and chances are you won't be committed to achieving them because you know deep down it’s not what you really want.

It's a bit like choosing between the same holiday you've had for the last 10 years, and that trek across the mountains to Machu Pichu you've been offered. You don't know if you've the stamina to complete it, but if you don't even have a go you'll always be wondering what might have been.

And if you do get there – what an experience to share with your friends and family. The memories will stay with you forever. Can you honestly say the same about your 2 weeks on the beach?

Identify the Possible Barriers to Your Goals Now

No-one has ever achieved their goals without meeting obstacles along the way. It's exactly the same for successful business people, famous explorers and inventors – and you and me. The secret is not to be put off: do as much as possible in advance to identify and plan how to overcome obstacles, and then get on with things, trusting that you will find solutions to whatever comes up along the way.

Even though you know how far the journey is and how to get there, you don't actually know how long it will take on any individual day to get the kids to school or yourself to work. You know how long it ought to take, assuming no problems but that's where it gets interesting...

You could face delays before you even set off from home: the alarm doesn't go off ... the kettle doesn't work ... the dog chooses today to throw up on the kitchen floor ... a vital school book has gone missing ...

You could face delays on the journey: those roadworks weren't there yesterday ... someone jumped a red light and hit another car at a busy junction ... all the parking spaces are full today ... you forgot an important file and had to go back home again ...

Anyone who could make a crystal ball that could successfully predict these events would be assured of their fortune. You have to rely on your experience, which tells you to give yourself additional time just in case, and to check you've got everything you need the night before.

What you don't do is decide not to make the journey in case anything goes wrong and delays you. You don't decide it's better to stay home in bed rather than risk being late. You do what you can to plan for things that you can reasonably predict then you stop worrying about it.

And what about the days when you don't do anything different but somehow you managed to arrive 20 minutes early? You know you can't ever predict that!

Address your life goals in the same way:

think things through to identify challenges that have a reasonable chance of happening

plan strategies to deal with these challenges

don't waste your energy on 'what if's': those imagined obstacles that are always far worse than anything life actually throws in your way

don't put things off until you feel every piece is in place – life doesn't work like that

take full advantage of all the opportunities that come your way, especially those you weren't expecting

Then put one foot in front of the other, and get started!

For Every Successful Goal There Are Lots That Missed the Net

Here's a fact of life: you'll most likely need to take more than one shot at your significant goals

You WILL encounter setbacks. The important thing is how you respond to these.

The easy choice is to give up, to say ‘I gave it my best shot, but it just wasn’t to be'.

If you choose this course – and many people do – there will always be a part of you wondering what might have happened if you’d had the courage to pick yourself up and try again.

People who consistently achieve their goals realize that they need to be flexible, to be willing to change direction, to follow a different path than they expected to.

People who consistently achieve their goals aren't afraid of going back to the drawing board, rethinking, regrouping and starting out again.

People who consistently achieve their goals profit from their failures as well as their successes.

Goal Setting can be even easier and more effective when you use all the resources you have within yourself. Make sure your confidence, motivation and self esteem are strong, and that you have all the skills you need for the goals you want to reach