We have 4 months left until the end of the year. And though it isn’t quite yet Autumn yet, I find September always brings me a new wave of focus, determination and energy. And it has me thinking about my goals.

Are there any goals you are currently working towards?

Perhaps you set goals each month or each quarter. Or perhaps you set New Years resolutions in January. Maybe you’ve talked about things you’d “like to do” this year but haven’t taken action on just yet.

If the answer is yes, do you feel confident about how and when you’ll achieve these things?

If not, you aren’t alone (Did you know that 8% of people who set NY resolutions actually keep them?), and this blog post is here to help.

Here are a few fatal mistakes people make with goals and how to overcome each one of them. Are you making any of them?

Mistake 1: You have “should” goals.

These are goals that you feel like you “should” have, but you don’t have the intrinsic motivation to see through. We often feel motivated when we set a goal, but nobody feels motivated 24/7. And when motivation lags, we need to be able to tap into a deeper desire to get up and do the work anyway, instead of give up.

Do this instead:

Make sure that each of the goals you are working towards is meaningful to you. Next to each one, write down why you want and care about achieving it. This way, when the going gets tough, you’ll be able to remind yourself of your “why”, and this will help reignite your motivation.

Mistake 2: You don't have a plan

You have true goals, but are unclear on how you will achieve them. You feel overwhelmed and you don’t take action.

Do this instead:

Break your goal up into baby steps - get super clear on the specific actions you will need to take. Step 1, step 2, step 3… as many steps as it takes until you see yourself reaching the goal. If seeing so many steps ahead of you feels overwhelming, remember you don’t need to take every step today. Take the first one. Tomorrow, the second. Baby steps.

Mistake 3: You're going it alone

You haven’t told anyone about your goals, but have kept them all in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper. You’re doing yourself a disservice by making yourself the only person who can keep you accountable. Remember, you won’t always feel motivated when it’s time to take action. Let people help you.

Do this instead:

We are more likely to meet our goals when we have shared them with people we trust - people who will encourage us when we feel like giving up, people who will call us out when we slack off. We are also more likely to meet our goals when we surround ourselves with other people who are also working towards similar goals or inspire us to do our best.

Mistake 4: You haven’t planned for obstacles

…and when they show up, they throw you off and leave you feeling disheartened.

Do this instead:

Write down a couple of obstacles that might show up on your journey to achieving a particular goal. Then consider what you could do when that obstacle appears. If it does, you’ll know exactly what to do. You’ll recognise that obstacles are part of the process, and you’ll be prepared.

Mistake 5: You're missing the easy wins

Taking action towards the goal feels hard and you’re missing out on the easy wins you can take to make it easier.

Do this instead:

Make sure you know exactly when you are going to work on the goal to remove confusion. If your goal is a habit that you can forget, set up prompts to remind you - a reminder on your phone, or a post-it note on your fridge. A tip: don’t keep too many prompts around you otherwise you’ll start to tune them out.

We repeat behaviours that make us feel good, or ease discomfort, so make taking action feel good. Celebrate immediately after you have completed a task so your brain begins to associate it with a positive feeling and you will want to do it again!

Keep track of your progress and look at it often. Maybe each week you take note of what you have accomplished and look back at how far you’ve come. This doesn’t have to take long, and will give you a little boost of motivation to keep going.

If you could make anything happen over the next few months what would it be?

If you’re interested in learning more about how to master your goals, I’m running a free talk: Reset & Reclaim Your 2022 Goals at Birch Community on September 7th from 6 - 7pm. This is unfortunately only available to Birch guests and members however because I feel this is such an important topic, I’m going to run this very same workshop as a free virtual masterclass soon.

In the workshop, you’ll be guided through the process of:

1. Getting clear on your why

2. Understanding what's blocking you from achieving all of your goals

3. Confronting the fears that might lead you to procrastinate or self-sabotage

4. How to set goals you will actually keep

5. Setting an action plan

Put your name down to register interest and be the first to receive the details!