3 Major Mistakes People Make When Setting Goals

Goal setting is such a paradox. On the one hand, we’re supposed to have these stretch goals, and on the other we’re supposed to be so in the detail and have every task outlined so that we can get everything done, and it doesn’t make sense. Or does it?

Goal setting is a huge part of my work with clients. And over the past 13 years, I’ve learned a thing or two about what works, and what doesn’t. And this goes way beyond SMART.

If you haven’t heard of SMART goals, it’s a handy acronym for, “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound,” which are all sound principles for part of goal setting. But it’s not the whole story.

I’m going to talk a little bit more about that, but first I want to introduce you to the three major mistakes that people meet when they set goals.

1: Relying on SMART Principles alone

What does that look like? Well, when you rely purely on setting SMART goals, there’s no fuel to propel you towards them when things get tough. Your motivation drops, actions get missed, and ultimately, you can fail in your attempts to achieve the goal.

Now that results in a sense of feelings of failure and it can lead to a lack of confidence in setting future goals.

So why do people make that mistake?

Well, they make it entirely innocently. Let’s make that absolutely clear at the beginning. They believe that they’re doing all the right things. After all, SMART has been heralded as the tool for setting goals for decades. What they don’t know is that there’s a vital piece missing in SMART, or maybe even two things missing, but we’ll get to that later.

What happens when you stop relying on SMART principles alone?

Well, when you stop relying purely on SMART to set goals, the goals that you set and how you feel about achieving them is transformed. Instead of pushing uphill, it’s much more like a snowball at the top of a snowy mountain. And it’s just growing and gathering momentum all the way down the hill as it rolls easily down towards it’s resulting landing place.

2: Setting too small a goal

I’m going to be upfront and honest here, this is the mistake I make most often.

When you set too small a goal you might be happy that you achieve it, but you’re keeping yourself small, and staying in your comfort zone is not going see you reach your full potential anywhere.

And like I say, that’s me through and through. I like to nail those goals. I like to hit them.

Why do people make this mistake?

People tend to make this mistake, especially myself, because achievement is such a strong value of theirs and they’re addicted to the thrill of accomplishing what they said they would. And that’s the important piece, it’s what they said they would.

In fact, the thought of potentially not achieving what they said they would is so abhorrent to them, it can actually make them feel quite nauseated. Because to them, it means that they have not been truthful. So it’s not actually all about the achievement. It’s about being honest and doing what they said they were going to do.

What happens when you stop setting too small a goal?

When you stop looking at setting goals as your manifesto, you can reach higher than you ever thought was possible. When you realize that a goal is just a target to shoot for, but not necessarily reach your first, second, 10th or 100th time, all that pressure is gone and you can focus on stretching yourself just to see what you can really achieve.

3: Living in the macro and micro at the same time

Are you dizzy yet? This tends to manifest in analysis paralysis. When you’re trying to maintain that big vision goal and do all the small steps that are required to achieve it, it can really mess with your mindset. And it shows up as analysis paralysis and just not getting anything done, procrastination. Or even at worst case, a bit of a sense of hopelessness of, “I just can’t do this.”

Why do people make this mistake?

People overwhelm themselves with all the details of the entire plan all at once. And it’s no wonder that it seems like a mountain to climb.

What happens when you stop living in the macro and micro at the same time?

When you stop making that mistake, when you stop trying to be in all the details and holding the bigger picture at the same time, you can be really motivated by your goal and keep moving towards it without overwhelm, or risk of burning out. It means that you stop feeling depleted and defeated.

There’s five parts to the art of masterful goal setting. You can use this with your clients, with your team, or when you’re setting your own goals.

1: What?

What is it that you ultimately want?

This is the personal goal. This is the making a certain amount of money. It’s a tangible goal. What do you want?

2: Why?

Why do you want that goal?

• Is it to feel accomplished?
• Is it to feel successful?
• Is it to support your family?

And if you’re working with clients or team members, it tells you a lot about what’s most important to them as individuals to know their why. And that’s important for you because knowing what’s important to them is how you motivate and empower them. And that frees you up to lead.

3: The big picture goal

This is the stretch goal. It’s going to help you soar higher and further than you dare. It’s not necessary to know every detail of how to achieve this goal right now, but it is important to connect your why, your reasons, to it and make sure that you feel something. It’s having that feeling that gives you the propulsion, it’s the rocket fuel.

4: A sprint goal

This is the focus for the next review period. Maybe the next 90 to 100 days as this has been proven to be a really good period of focus on a project or goal. And these sprint goals are like big buckets, or chunks, on the way to the big vision goal, the big picture goal.

You know where you are right now and you know what that big vision or that big picture is. Split that journey into five buckets and then take the first bucket and split that into five. And if that results in a project that you can achieve and 90 to 100 days, then great. If it doesn’t, then take the first chunk and chunk it down again.

At this point we’re only looking at one piece of the overall puzzle and that’s how you break out from that overwhelm.

5: Designing your actions

This is the roadmap or steps that you need to take in order to complete that sprint goal. These are your SMART steps. These are the specific measurable steps that you need to take in order to achieve that sprint goal.

And the sprint goals are going to lead to the big picture goals and that’s ultimately going to lead to your what.

If you’re interested in learning the art of masterful goal setting and would like my help, then please get in contact.

Originally published at https://coachschool.academy on July 30, 2019.