We are standing at the precipice of a New Year, and if you’re like me and set your goals already, you may have noticed that some of those goals might be repeats from previous years that were never accomplished. Now, of course we all know and have heard many times over that last year, 2020 specifically, was a very different and challenging year. If you set goals last year and didn’t meet them, I do believe in having grace with ourselves, however, I also believe in being realistic with ourselves and taking accountability that we had goals we wanted to accomplish and for some reason or another were unable to do so. I think it’s very important for us to identify and understand what held us back in the past so that we can take the appropriate steps to ensure our goals are met this time.

From my research into the topic of goal setting, I have identified 9 very common reasons why people do not meet the goals they set for themselves, so I will outline those now and explain what you can do to overcome each.

Reason #1: You Didn’t Write It Down

The first reason that you did not achieve your goal in the past is that you chose the goal, but you never actually wrote it down. I know that is such a simple thing, but there is a well known statistic that says when you write down a goal, you have a 41% increased chance of seeing it through. Many of us set goals and resolutions for the year in our heads, we decide what we want, but we don’t formalize it by putting pen to paper. Luckily, this reason is easy to fix! This year, make the effort to write your goals down.

Reason #2: Your Goals Weren’t SMART

Reason number two that you may not have hit your goal in the past is that it wasn’t a SMART goal. SMART is an acronym that stands for a framework that you can use to ensure that your goal is actually something that you can achieve and has a reasonable set of expectations for you to use to actually execute on it. If you have ever set a vague goal like “get better sleep” or “lower my stress” you know that these goals are sometimes hard to turn into action items for personal accountability because most of us don’t have sleep monitors or stress test machines in our homes to be able to gauge our quality of sleep or stress. By using the SMART framework, you can make a vague goal much more specific and set parameters and measures to ensure your success. SMART stands for:

S | Specific: What is the specific outcome you are seeking?
M | Measurable: What measures can you use to ensure you are making progress?
A | Actionable: What are you able to do to affect the outcome?
R | Realistic: Do you have the time, energy and resources to achieve this goal?
T | Time bound: What is the due date or when do you plan to work on the goal?

Take each of your goals and work them through this simple framework to come up with the outline of a plan of action you can use to move forward with your goal.

Reason #3: You Didn’t Create a Project Plan

The third reason you did not achieve your goal in the past was that you didn’t break it down into a project plan with clear steps and any sort of tracking for personal accountability. Once you have ensured your goal is SMART, you should take that outline one step further and break your goal into an action list for a project or objective. That way you always know where you are in your progress and what you need to do next. I have and recommend using project planning inserts like the ones I use in the Master Plan System, or if you have a planner for the year, you can purchase a bundle of project planning inserts separately as well by clicking here.

Reason #4: The Strategy You Chose Wasn’t Effective

Reason number four that you did not follow through with your goal is that the strategy you chose to execute on wasn’t effective for you. I personally believe that there are numerous different ways we can execute on any goal or objective and I think that certain strategies work for certain people. So, it’s very possible you chose a strategy that just didn’t work for you. That doesn’t mean you can’t still achieve you goal. Now that you know what doesn’t work for you, you can find another strategy that may be better suited to your needs now that you have some experience in going after that goal. Don’t give up on your goal, you still have an opportunity to accomplish it!

Reason #5: You Weren’t Checking In Often Enough

The fifth reason you may not have achieved your goal in the past is that you weren’t checking in with your goal often enough. You took the time to write down your goal, make sure it was SMART and even list out the action steps but you got out of the habit of checking in on the goal and stopped taking action on it. I find this can often happen when people keep their goal related plans in a separate or dedicated binder and not side by side with their daily planner. This is one of the major reasons I preach one person, one planner. Because when you have goals and plans kept separately, it can easily become an out of sight, out of mind scenario. Now, it is also quite possible that you are using a planner that just doesn’t give you the ability to really manage project plans alongside your calendar and agenda, and if this is the case, I highly recommend upgrading to the Master Plan System because it is the best Functional Planning System for ensuring you have visibility to your goals and a build in system for tracking them. Click here to purchase yours now.

Reason #6: You Didn’t Anticipate Obstacles

Reason number six that you may not have achieved your goal in the past is that you didn’t anticipate and make a plan to overcome obstacles. Nothing in life ever runs smoothly, we always have some obstacles that pop up on the way to our goals, and many times those obstacles can be anticipated and prepared for if we take the time to think through our plans and identify what could go wrong. In the past you may have been that person who hit an obstacle in their plan and then just gave up because it vexed you, but you don’t have to give up just because you need to adjust course a bit. Right now, I recommend taking some time to think of what might come up for you this year as you work towards the goal and make a quick little plan for how you are going to overcome that issue if it comes up.

Reason #7: You Just Didn’t Take Action

Reason number seven why you didn’t achieve your goal in the past is one that happens to be a tough pill to shallow. Perhaps you just didn’t take any action. I know it’s tough to take this level of accountability- to be able to say, it was my fault, I just didn’t try, but it happens to so many of us. Now, when I researched why this happens there was one glaring reason that I found over and over again; Mindset. Your mindset and more specifically, the limiting beliefs you hold about yourself are a major reason why you do not take action, and this is something even I struggle with, especially when I am setting a very big or ambitious goal. If we don’t believe we can achieve the goal, or if we don’t believe we are worthy, or something in the way we were raised is telling us consciously or subconsciously that we can’t or shouldn’t want a specific goal, then we will sabotage ourselves with inaction.

In order to overcome this issue, we need to first identify the limiting beliefs that are holding us back and then work through them so that we reprogram our mindset and subconscious to know it is safe for us to go after this goal and to achieve it! If you need more resources for mindset and limiting beliefs, I have created a wonderful workbook of journaling prompts to walk you through identifying and overcoming limiting beliefs as part of the Productivity + Planning Master Mind Membership.

Reason #8: You Were Being a Perfectionist

The eighth reason you didn’t achieve your goal in the past is that you were being a perfectionist. Now, I do believe that perfectionism is a form of a limiting belief. Perfectionism is when we set unreasonable or unnecessarily high expectations for our outcomes that ultimately cause us to obsess over actions or the conditions under which we can or will take action. It’s not uncommon for perfectionists to take some action, but often they will set up many hurdles for themselves before they will allow themselves to do the work or they will continue to work on the same action repeatedly, never satisfied with what they have produced.

If that sounds like you, I have two suggestions for breaking free of your perfectionist mindset. First is to really lean into the fact that perfect does not exist. Logically, we all know this to be true, so explain to yourself why perfect is a lie and why it’s not necessary for you to have unreasonably high expectations for yourself. Wouldn’t you rather have it done well enough then not completed at all? My second suggestion is to start talking to yourself like you would a friend or loved one who came to saying they couldn’t do X because it wasn’t perfect. Would you tell your loved one it was okay to give up or would you support and encourage them to make steady progress to their goal? Most of us talk to ourselves much more like our worst enemy than we do someone we love and it ends up ruining our confidence and self-esteem. Changing the way you talk to yourself can go a long way to overcoming perfectionism.

Reason #9: You Didn’t Have Any Accountability

The ninth and final reason you didn’t achieve your goal in the past is that you had no accountability. Accountability is an interesting subject because there is internal and external accountability types and some people require one more strongly than the other. On one hand, maybe you didn’t have any personal accountability or self-discipline and gave yourself excuses not to take action. On the other hand, maybe you need but didn’t have an external support system of people keeping you accountable to your goal. Many of us need other people checking in on us, a support system or community cheering us on, in order to feel accountable. That can go such a long way to ensuring we make progress with our goals! You can find accountability buddies via your friend or family, or if you would like a more structured type of support, the Productivity + Planning Master Mind includes accountability support and is a wonderful place to find a community of like-minded women who are all learning to plan and act productivity together towards our goals. Click here to enroll and join our accountability group!

I do hope this information has been helpful to you. If you would prefer to check out my recent video on this topic, I will link it below!

In the comments of this post I would love to know which reasons have been holding you back and what you plan to do to move forward with your goals successfully this year so tell me all about it below!

xoxo,