Your end-of-year inbox is probably crammed with tips for New Year’s goal-setting.
Many are feel-good, rah-rah types of messages which are fun to read, but about as helpful as the endless “inspirational” infographics that flood your social media feeds.
And many are so generic, they were probably copied from mainstream magazines, the sort that make you hate your life while you’re reading articles showcasing the perfect decor of some generic millionaire and his perfect trophy wife.
Goals that are most fun to set usually possess two qualities: They are attainable, yet stretch you out of your comfort zone. And they should always be in alignment with your most important values.
They also offer you one priceless benefit: Each goal advances you a step further toward attaining your dream lifestyle and business.
So why do most people suck as goal-setting and goal-keeping?
The answer lies in your personality.
3 Newly Discovered Goal-Setting Personas
When it comes to goal-setting, there are three types of people. You may find you fall into one of the three categories below based on how you feel about goal-setting.
- You get excited about setting new goals…but you become easily distracted and discouraged.
- Your stomach knots up into a dismal little lump of cold gravy when you try to set a goal. You put it off till later.
- You have iron self-discipline. You set goals, and although it’s not easy for you to keep walking the straight and narrow towards them, reminding yourself of the benefits you’ll reap, if you stay true to your path, helps you achieve them.
Since you are reading this blog, chances are you fall somewhere within categories one and two like most people.
But here’s a thought that might bring a sigh of relief no matter what goal-setting type you are: Goal-setting ought to be fun.
So why isn’t it?
Why is goal-setting, at best, a chore, and at its worst, wishful thinking? The sort that leaves you feeling defeated in short order?
I believe it’s because of the misconception: That your goal is the end-point of your journey.
Very often, what we view as “goals” are actually steps you need to take in order to reach a goal.
If you separate your journey into steps (like the way I did inside my brand new, “2021 Simple & Fun Goal Setting Strategies Step-by-Step Guide to Create Your Most Spectacular Year Ever!”), mini-goals and end goals, or destinations, each big goal feels smaller, more manageable and more attainable.
Steps can become goals in themselves, and achieving mini-goals along the way should be as fully satisfying as achieving your big main business goal for the year.
Here’s an important point to remember…
Mini-goals and steps are the building blocks of belief. The more of these you successfully fulfill, the more easily you can believe-and-achieve your “big” goals.
These small successes are the proof you can, indeed, do anything you set your mind too.
Steps and mini-goals are also by their nature more immediate, which leaves you less likely to procrastinate and put off starting your journey.
Taking it one step at a time will make goal setting feel more rewarding as you complete each step.
But whether or not you prefer to think of goals as steps (or vice versa), the important factor to realize is that goals we set for ourselves often tend to be black and white.
Human beings are not.
We are fluid little coracles adrift in the universe, tossed and tipped by many forces and factors over which we really have very little control.
That is why “black-and-white” thinking rarely pays off.
Spend a few minutes thinking about your goal-setting experiences. Based on past goals and their outcome, and also on what you know about yourself.
Which goal-setting type are you?