How You Can Actually Achieve Goals When 92% People Don’t

Did you know people rarely achieve goals even when these goals are really important to them? 92% of people never achieve their new year resolutions.

What is the secret of 8 percent who actually achieve goals they set?

When we don’t achieve our goals, we may blame ourselves, call ourselves lazy, and trust ourselves a bit less. But the truth is that people are not lazy, they are just going after the wrong goals.

Still not sure how to achieve goals instead of letting them fuel disappointment? Let’s dive right into the process!

Here are five proven ways to actually achieve goals you set.

1. Choose Inspiring Goals

“People aren’t lazy, they simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.” – Tony Robbins

We often label ourselves as lazy. But when we pass judgment this way, it closes the conversations and invites guilt and blame on ourselves.

The key is to choose goals that actually inspire you. Do you like innovating, bringing new ideas – do you want to innovate on a bigger level, maybe become the CEO of your company and make executive decisions?

Set goals that light a fire in you, make you excited and scared at the same time. That’s the only way you’ll actually achieve goals.

2. Know Your Why

Inspiration is good and will help you find the beauty in your work. But it’s your purpose, your reason for accomplishing the goal, which will actually help you persevere in tough times.

So when you write down your goals – write down why you want to accomplish the goal. If you don’t have a solid reason, chances are, you won’t achieve goals you set.

Review this ‘why’ every morning and it will fuel you with the passion and energy to keep going. Sometimes we are just interested in our goals, not committed to them. Knowing your why will give you clarity on your goals and find the ones you can really commit to.

3. Set Specific and Challenging Goals

Research shows that when goals are specific and challenging, we tend to perform at a higher level.

Here’s a vague goal: I want to work out five times a week.

Make it more specific: In February, I will work out Monday to Friday from 4 pm to 5 pm every week. And to support my commitment, I will go to the gym with Adam, so that I’m always accountable.

If it isn’t challenging, it won’t be interesting. Know why people love to play sports? Because of the challenge. Make your goals challenging enough so that they stretch your comfort zone (and don’t destroy it). This is the secret to actually achieve goals.

4. Use Feedback Cycle

High performance athletes focus on deliberate practice which focuses on feedback for rapid learning of skills. So if you want to attain your goals quicker and remain more committed to them, it’s important to have a feedback cycle.

Feedback is important because you’re a human you will make mistakes and fall back into old patterns. A coach can give you valuable feedback and also hold you accountable to executing your plans. If you can’t afford a coach, monitoring your own progress and giving yourself honest feedback via a journal is also a good option.

5. Break Down Your Goals & Focus on Small Daily Wins

No matter how inspiring our goals can be, they are often intimidating too. Therefore, it’s important to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Break down your big goal into monthly goals.

Then focus on small daily wins. Why? Because research done by Harvard Director of Research, Teresa Amabile, shows that the most powerful motivator in the workplace is small, daily progress. It’s human nature to expand our reach and become more than who we were yesterday.