According to a study by the University of Scranton, of the roughly 25% of people in the US who set new year resolutions, only 8% actually achieve them. This reality gives a sense of fighting an uphill battle every time you set a new goal. But the enemies of success aren’t in the statistics. Rather they are the lack of awareness of underlying, values, needs, and desires that drive behavior.
How can you set yourself up for success at achieving your goals?
This podcast helps to identify why we set goals and gives effective tips on how to leverage our unconscious motivations in favor of those goals. A key component is setting and maintaining goals from a place of authenticity. Setting goals and pushing through because we believe we should do it, sets us up for failure. Small consistent change goals that are based on what is truly meaningful to us are what bring lasting growth.
Here are three action steps that you can take:
- Write down your core beliefs and values. Being aware of your values enables you to set and achieve goals that are meaningful to you. With this you can fill your life with high-priority activities that inspire you, leaving little room for the low-priority distractions and fears.
- Compare the pros and cons of pursuing your goal to the pros and cons of not pursuing that goal. Often, we lose momentum not because we don’t want to be successful but because the benefits and comfort of not working towards it are stronger or more numerous than the benefits of achieving that goal. Choosing goals with far more positive benefits will increase our chances of sticking with it.
- Reject the impulses to puff yourself up with ego or to beat yourself up with shame. Both are a façade to conceal your core self. Living a meaningful life starts with acting from a place of authenticity.