Why You're Not Achieving Your Goals

Posted April 11, 2007 in Leadership, Life, Starting It, 13 Comments »


Scenario: "Dude, I set a goal, then I never achieve it. Then I set another, then still no success. Mutha-ahh!"

Like most people, Andy Bobby chooses super-ambitious goals -- then wonders why he never achieves 'em:

  1. "Make the NBA."
  2. Goal scratched.
  3. "Win American Idol."
  4. Goal scratched.
  5. "Build a billion dollar business."
  6. Goal scratched.
  7. "Be a $20 million Hollywood actor."
  8. Goal scratched.

It's awesome Bobby's going for super-crazy goals -- as he should.

But, here's the problem:

  • He's trying to climb Everest with one step.
  • He's trying to throw a Hail Mary on every pass.
  • >He's trying to win the Nobel Prize with a grade school education.
  • He's trying to marry a hot stranger off the bat.
  • He's trying to build Rome in a day.

(We'll get to the solution soon.)

Check Yo-Self Before You Wreck Yo-Self

Put-into-practice-time:

  1. Count back to your last 5 ambitious goals.
  2. Count how many times you achieved those goals.

What'd you get? For most of us, it's a big-fat ZERO.

We couldn't achieve our super-ambitious goals because:

  • a) we sucked
  • b) we were unmotivated
  • c) we tried to climb Everest with one step

Answer (c)? Yup, yup: it's not that we suck or that we feel unmotivated -- it's that:

Staring at "Super Ambitious Goal A" is like staring at Everest from ground-level -- while thinking we need that one special step to get there.

So what do we do?

  1. We wait until it's the "perfect" time to take that one "perfect" step to climb atop Everest.
  2. But, that "perfect" time never comes.
  3. So, we drop the super-ambitious goal -- and shoot for a new one.

And, that vicious cycle horrendously continues, until we give up altogether -- thinking: "Hey, I just suck at accomplishing goals!"

But Badass, you're not.

You just haven't found how to accomplish your super-ambitious goals.

What's The Solution?

Instead of seeing your ultimate goal as just one individual goal, break the sucka down.

See that ultimate goal as a series of mini goals -- goals that you can achieve by tomorrow (or today/next-hour/next-minute -- something super soon).

That way, you tell yourself:

"Hey, the goal ain't so impossible after all! I can achieve that sucka by tomorrow! Yay!"

And if you find yourself failing Goal XYZ by [goal date here], break the sucka down again -- and again -- and again, until that [mini-goal] is "oh-so-certainly achievable" by the following day.

Sexy rule of thumb: The more mini-goals you incorporate into your ultimate goal, the likelier you'll achieve that ultimate goal.

Consider Billy's $100K Goal

Billy wants to build a $100,000 business in a year.

Instead of setting his goals like most peeps:

  • January: I can start on that goal next month.
  • February to August: I can start next month.
  • September: Now it's too late! Better choose a goal for $20K.
  • October: I can start next month.
  • November: Whoops, too late! Better choose a goal for $5K.
  • December: Uh-oh.

He incorporates sweet-compact-mini-milestones achievable through a step-by-step fashion:

  1. Billy: "To build a $100K biz, I'll break it into $10K increments."
  2. Billy: "To build a $10K biz, I'll break it into $1K increments."
  3. Billy: "To build a $1K biz, I need to find 5 customers."
  4. Billy: "To find 5 customers, I need to find at least 20 leads."
  5. Billy: "To find 20 leads, I need to hire a solid lead generation firm. I can do that by tomorrow!"

Ta-da!

And if Billy for some reason can't find solid lead generation firm, he'll break down that goal even further:

  • Billy: "To hire a solid lead generation firm, I need a list of several firms."
  • Billy: "To get that list, I'll need a local business directory. I can get that by tomorrow!"

The second sexy rule of thumb:

You know that you're setting fabulous mini-goals if you can achieve them by tomorrow.

And When You Don't Achieve Those Goals...

If you find yourself not achieving your goals, take that as vital clues:

Your goals are too-ambitious-too-soon, and should be broken down into more bite-sized chunks -- such that you're positively answering:

"I achieve this by tomorrow!"

Take a bite out of your ambitious goals. Win.

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13 Comments on Why You're Not Achieving Your Goals

Insights Into Why You\'re Not Achieving Your Goals

Posted @ 07:08 AM on April 11, 2007

[...] You can read the full article on Trizoko These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]


Daniel McLean

Posted @ 07:18 AM on April 11, 2007

Great article and very helpful. I've heard this so many times yet still keep forgetting to chunk down, I think getting your mini goals down on paper is a must.

I'll consider my trackback above a lesson on how NOT to use apostrophes in a uri :-)


andhapp

Posted @ 08:42 AM on April 11, 2007

I always had that problem....I set myself ambitious goals and obviously did not meet them....which stressed me out enormously and reduced my productivity....


Peter

Posted @ 08:48 AM on April 11, 2007

Sometimes you come across posts that just get to the heart of the matter in a clear and effective manner. Like your banner no bulls#!t.


The Trizle Team

Posted @ 04:54 AM on April 12, 2007

Thanks for the mention, Daniel! I'm not so technical, so excuse me for having no idea what that means :) Can anyone help me out here?

-Andrew


The Trizle Team

Posted @ 04:57 AM on April 12, 2007

Hi again Daniel, I seem to always forget about it too. But, as I've tried it, you get a sense that you're really making progress to your ultimate goal -- so then that mysteriously motivates you to want to set more mini goals/milestones.

Pretty cool psychological mind twister.

-Andrew


The Trizle Team

Posted @ 05:00 AM on April 12, 2007

Hi andhapp, I can totally relate. I've noticed my own personal goals have been pretty lacking so far this year. They're ambitious goals, but sometimes way too ambitious that it stalls you from doing anything. And then, that drains your productivity and increases stress.

That's why I feel mini-goals rock, and gets you moving ASAP. Thanks for the comment!

-Andrew


The Trizle Team

Posted @ 05:01 AM on April 12, 2007

Hi Peter,

We're grateful for the comment, man! You rock. We're not that good yet, but we're trying to kick our butts to get there.

Thanks, man!

-Andrew


Dave Navarro - Business Coaching / Time Management Coaching

Posted @ 05:19 PM on April 18, 2007

[...] While checking out my new favorite blog Trizle I saw a great post on why people tend to have such a hard time achieving their goals. In the article you’ll find the same time-tested advice of “break your goals into small, manageable chunks” that you can never hear too often. But what stands out about this article isn’t so much that it talks about looking at small sub-goals, but that it urges you to focus on what you can accomplish “by tomorrow.” [...]


Dave Navarro

Posted @ 06:17 PM on April 18, 2007

Rockin' post. You are my new favorite blog because of your cut-to-the-chase-not-afraid-to-be-harsh get-it-done-ness.

I'm sure I'll be linking to plenty o' your posts ... must continue reading now ...

- Dave Navarro
("the other white me")


Moe Moe

Posted @ 05:47 PM on September 12, 2007

Hey dude..

Awesome article...I thought you said it nice n simple...and in great language!

Peace out bro


Mr. Chubz

Posted @ 06:19 PM on September 19, 2007

Awesome article. I've been stuck in a real rut lately because I haven't been able to meet my goals lately. This article really helps. I've been reading this site for a couple of months now and I continue to see grade A articles like this one. Keep up the kick-butt work.

-Regards


Anand_K

Posted @ 12:01 PM on November 02, 2007

Great Article!!
Thanks. I am speechless.. such an insightful thought process


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