Why
do some people achieve their goals while others fail? I believe it's because
successful people manage to overcome five barriers that, in many cases,
guarantee failure. Here are those barriers and how to overcome them:
1.
Uninspiring Goals
When
most people set goals, they envision a "thing," such as a particular
amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement (like
writing a book). Unfortunately, these "things I'm gonna get or do"
goals don't appeal to the core of what motivates you, because they miss the
point that what you're actually seeking in life and work is the POSITIVE
EMOTIONS that you believe those things will produce.
Fix:
Rather than envisioning a "thing" as your goal, envision--with all
the strength in your imagination--how you will feel when you achieve the goal.
That way, you'll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and ethical
bounds) to achieve that goal.
2.
Fear of Failure
If
you're afraid of failing, you won't take the necessary risks required to achieve
your goal. For example, you won't make that important phone call, because
you're afraid that you'll be rebuffed. Or you won't quit your dead-end job and
start your own business because you're afraid that you might end up without any
money.
Fix:
Decide--right now!--that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary condition.
If things don't go the way you'd like, it's only a setback that, at most,
delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that you'll
sometimes fail, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet vital) component
in your quest.
3.
Fear of Success
In
many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure.
Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if it
didn't make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it? What
then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be envious? Such
thoughts (and they're common) can cause even a highly motivated person to
self-sabotage.
Fix:
Decide that you're going to be happy and grateful today and happy and grateful
in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on possible problems,
envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help your friends and family
achieve THEIR goals. (Hint: Watch the last season of the TV series Entourage!)
4.
An Unrealistic Timetable
Most
people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly underestimate
what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try to cram too many
action items into the short term rather than spacing out activities over the
long term. The inability to get all the short-term steps accomplished creates
discouragement and the impression that the final goal is slipping away.
Fix:
As you list the activities and steps required to achieve a goal, schedule only
the 20% of the activities that will produce 80% of your results. (I explain
more about this in the post The Secret of Time Management.) Beyond that, set
ambitious long-term timetables, but always leave some "wiggle room"
when you plan short term.
5.
Worrying About "Dry Spots"
It's
easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to
advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you're trying to master a
certain skill. You make swift progress at first but then, after a while, it
seems as if you're not doing any better, or maybe a little worse. Some people
use these "plateaus" or "dry spots" as an excuse to give up
and therefore fail.
Fix: Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot,
it's time to celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign
that you're on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience
to stick with it and trust that you'll eventually achieve your goal.
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