7 Common Mistakes People Make When Setting Goals
Positive psychology research has found a direct link between goal setting and happiness. Goals are vital in helping us to organize our lives and focus our energy. The times in my life that I have felt the most disciplined, focused, and accomplished has been when I have had a clear goal that I have been working on.
Goals are useful in that they create meaning for our lives, they provide us with a gauge for achievement, and they help us structure our time and prioritize our activities.
At the same time, setting goals but not properly setting them can have an adverse effect.
Here are 7 common mistakes made in goal setting:
1. Setting goals without having a vision- Whether you are setting goals for your career, business or personal life, goals are best if they are connected to a vision. Direction is the most practical advantage of a clear vision. It serves are a road map. It simplifies your decision making on what goals to prioritize and how to use your time, resources and energy to accomplish them. Your vision is the big picture of where you are going and the goals you set should help you get there.
2. Setting avoidant goals – Goals orientation is the way we think and talk about our goals. We typically articulate our goals in away that we are either to attempting to approach something or avoid something. Approach goals are framed around outcomes we want to strive for, such as “implement a training program by Summer 2018”. Avoidant goals are framed around outcomes we want to prevent, such as “avoid eating too much”. Research shows it is most effective to think and talk about our goals in what we would like to approach.
3. Not writing goals down: Getting ideas out of your head and onto paper often adds clarity and focus. Research shows that we are more likely to achieve goals if we put them down on paper. Writing down our goals is also helpful because we create something tangible we care go back to for future reference.
4. Not reviewing goals regularly: Once a goal is set, it is best to set time aside weekly to review your goal so you can evaluate your progress. Seeing our goals more often helps us focus on them more, so that when opportunities arise that can help us move a step closer, we are more likely to notice them and act on them. Reviewing your goals regularly also creates an opportunity to recalibrate if needed.
5. Settings goals but not really ready to change: Changing habits is not simple or easy. For this reason, one of the questions I typically ask my coaching clients is “On the scale of 1 to 10, how ready are you to change?” I have found that their honest answer to this question is linked to if they are actually going to change and achieve their goals. Trying to change before you are ready to change isn’t going to be productive. This is the reason why New Year’s resolutions don’t last. People spring into action without being prepared to do the work that it takes transform.
6. Setting too many goals at once: We have a limited amount of time and energy to expend each day. When you set too many goals at once, your energy is spread thin instead of concentrating on one or two things. When you have multiple areas in your life that you would like to set goals around, it is best to decide which one is the most important and prioritize accordingly.
7. Not developing a plan to reach your goal: Research shows that all goals seeking is enhanced by writing a clear, definitive plan that states the specific outcome (the what) and the timing (by when) and the steps you will take to get there (the how). If you do not have an intentional plan on how you will reach your goal, in most cases you will default to doing things the way you have always done it.
Reflection: Do you make any of these common mistakes when setting goals? What will you do differently this year?
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