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  • Writer's pictureSarah Egan

Why Our Goals and Objectives Fail Miserably!


It's Monday the 21st of January, three quarters way through January's fresh buzz and our ''New Year's resolutions'', for those of us who have attempted to set any New Year's Goals.

published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46% of people who made New Year’s resolutions make it to the finish line. That means that just under half of the people who set a goal for the new year will fall off the bandwagon face first, with no attempt to jump back on!

The study also involved non-resolvers: those who piss their pants laughing at us goal setters, of which didn't make a New Year’s resolution, but had a goal they wanted to achieve that year. Only 4% of non-resolvers were successful at achieving their goals, a far bleaker result than those who did make a New Year’s resolution. Any f#cks given?

Let's find out why!

So the following are the top 10 most commonly made New Year's resolutions.

  1. Exercise more

  2. Lose weight

  3. Get organized

  4. Learn a new skill or hobby

  5. Live life to the fullest

  6. Save more money / spend less money

  7. Quit smoking

  8. Spend more time with family and friends

  9. Travel more

  10. Read more.

We've got so much accessible information at the tip of our fingers on the internet nowadays which can fully guide us well to achieve any goal, but what isn't so easily accessible is finding out our own personal 'Why'.

In order for us to not helplessly fall off the bandwagon head first, we need to know why the hell we're setting these goals, we have to have our core reason clear.

How do we do this?

Let's look at a typical example:

Let's imagine one bandwagon enthusiast wanting to exercise more and lose weight, so they set that as their goal or New Year's resolution.

Let's ask them why they want to exercise more and lose weight to which they reply; because it's healthy and I need to get fit and lose weight. (Good answer, but it's not a good enough 'why')

So we ask them why they want to get fit and lose weight, to which they might reply; because I want to feel good in my clothes and get myself ready for the beach and so on. (We're getting there, but it's still not your real 'why')

Then we now ask them how feeling good in their clothes and being ready for the beach would help them feel differently or benefit them more than they're feeling now, to which they reply; it will give me a sense of accomplishment and achievement and to know that I have the discipline to achieve my goal.

BINGO!

That, my goal-bashing friends, is their 'Why'! Which shows what some of their values are: Accomplishment, achievement and discipline.

Imagine our goals and objectives are the seeds we wish to plant, and our values are the earth in which we plant them. Without the earth, our seeds won't grow into flowers, so without our values matched with our goals, we won't get the results we want, no matter how hard we try!

So in order for our goals and objectives to bloom vibrantly we have to align them with our values which tells us the real why we want to set a goal.

To help you find out what what your values are:

Please follow the link below to one of my earlier posts.

‘He who has a why can endure any how.’ -German philosopher Frederick Nietzsche.

-YOUR LIFE DRIVE.

Contact Sarah@yourlifedrive.com for and coaching advice or guidance with your goals and objectives.


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