Goal Setting Mistakes

All of us spend time thinking about our future and wish our lives were diferent, but we really have no idea whatsoever how to fix the negatives in our lives. We set a goal, really want the goal to change our lives, forget about the goal, and never bring it to fruition. We then feel like a failure once again. Most people make the same goal setting mistakes over and over again. Unless we change our goal setting process, we will never improve our lives. Learning from our mistakes will help us to change our goal setting mistakes to our goal setting successes.

First we need to be aware of the most common mistakes. The first and most common mistake is writing the goal in the past tense. For instance, we write that we won’t eat candy or ice cream until we lose 50 pounds. Writing in the negative sets the stage for negative thinking or negative self-talk. A better way to write the goal would be I will have candy or ice cream only one day per week so that I can be healthier and lose some weight. When I have either treat, I will choose the lower calorie candy or ice cream. As you can see, the goal is positive and managable.

Another common mistake is to create a goal that isn’t thorough enough. Without an action plan, a goal will probably never even have a chance. For instance, if you want to save money each day for a fabulous trip you have planned. A poor goal would be I am going to save $50.00 each week for the trip. How will you save the money. Without a good, well-thought out plan, the goal will never be attained. A better goal would be I plan to save $50.00 each week by taking my lunch to work every day. By not going out each day for lunch, I can easily save the money. A great side effect to the brown bagging might also be a significant weight loss. Furthermore, plan when you are going to plan and prepare your lunch each day. Plan to spend Sunday afternoon writing out the lunch menu for each day and make sure you have everything you need. Another good idea is to have a budget ready for your lunches. With all of the planning finished, you can easily attain your goal.

Creating a verbal goal or a mental one is not as productive as writing the goal in a journal. At this time you can add all of the details that will help you make the goal a reality.Writing a goal makes it seem more real. Another great reason for writing down a goal is that you can re-read the goal every day to keep your determination going. Keeping the journal in plain sight will also help. When the goal becomes a habit, you are well on your way to changing your life.

One of the most common mistakes is not to allow yourself to fail. Expecting perfection at all times is a great way to sabatoge your goal. If your goal is to lose weight and you go to a party and pig out, you might use this lapse as a way to just blow off the goal. The I am a loser and will never lose weight excuse traps many people. Therefore, give yourself some wiggle room in your weight loss goal. Write in detail how you will handle your bing. Put Plan B in writing; if I have a binge, I will revert to my healthy diet the next day. Allowing yourself to fail will help you to keep on track.

Goal setting mistakes sabatoge changes that we want to make in our lives. With a few changes, we can learn from our mistakes and create positive goals that we will actually keep.

Copyright 2007 Janice D. Sterling - All Rights Reserved

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