Why You're Not Achieving Your Goals

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.

If you enjoyed Why You're Not Achieving Your Goals, get a complimentary subscription to our freshest articles through email or through your feed reader.