GOAL SETTING
By: Jack Guyler
Most people set out to better themselves by setting goals to achieve or making new year’s resolutions in January. Some of these you may be familiar with and have tried to obtain yourself, such as losing weight, going on a diet, getting in shape, saving money, becoming a better spouse or parent or giving up a bad habit or addiction.
Goal setting is outcome oriented. Goals are good to have. But the problem is, goals alone don’t get you where you want to go. Many people have similar goals as I mentioned above. But ask yourself this, why do some people succeed in achieving their goals while others don’t? It’s not the goal itself that creates failure, but how we go about achieving our goals.
Carey Nieuwhof talks about two cycles that people get on (one leads to success and the other failure)
Set a goal - Start strong - Hit a roadblock - Lose motivation - Give up (CYCLE OF FAILURE)
Set a goal - Build habits - See progress - Gain motivation - Enjoy (CYCLE OF SUCCESS)
Do you notice the difference maker between these two cycles? Both have goals and both want to succeed. The difference is found early on in the process. The cycle of success is built upon developing habits that will support you through the difficult or discouraging times. We’ll talk later in another article about the key to successful habits, but for now, notice that habits propel people to reach their goals.
How does this work? Say you want to lose weight. You can set a goal of losing ten pounds. Rather than hoping to lose ten pounds and then quitting when you don’t, you become intentional and build habits that will support you in losing this weight. You design an eating plan based on research for your body and then you begin to execute it on a daily basis. You can chart daily what you are eating and will know if you are sticking to your plan. If you do this long enough, you will begin to develop a healthier eating pattern. For this particular example, a lot of people do achieve the weight loss, but then put it right back on. Why does this happen? Because the goal was to lose ten pounds. But they didn’t look past the goal to develop an eating pattern to become a life-style. It was only temporary. Some goals will only be temporary, but for ones like this or for your fitness or financial health, you will want to develop long-term goals and habits that support them.
Sometimes goals can limit you. I think of Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback. Tom didn’t set as a goal to win seven Super Bowls, rather he set as his goal, to be the best quarterback he could be. He developed habits that supported him in this effort. As a result of his good and healthy habits, he won seven Super Bowls. The point here is this, everyone sets goals. But the people who achieve those goals or go beyond their goals are the people who develop good and intentional habits to help them get there and sustain that level of success or performance.
TAKE AWAY: Goals alone don’t predict success, but having the right habits to achieve those goals is what makes the difference.
