Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Goals

Setting goals is one of the most important ways to give yourself focus, motivation, and set priorities. Goals are necessary for all aspects of life. Personal goals could involve improving fitness, becoming more empathic, or listening better. Goals at work could be to train for a better position or improve work-life balance. Of course, when engaging in team sports, goals take on a whole new significance.

We all are aware of why setting goals is so important. When it comes to setting targets, it is good to remember that there are right ways and wrong ways to do it. Unfortunately, making goal setting mistakes can lead to stress, frustration, or even impact on your productivity.

In a previous article, we looked at how to set smart goals and what are the easiest ways to reach your goals. In this article, you will learn about the most common mistakes many people make when setting goals.

Biggest goal setting mistakes

Of course, the biggest mistake when it comes to setting goals is not setting them at all! Let’s look at what you should keep in mind for your goals to work to your advantage.

Not setting specific goals

Don’t make the mistake of setting goals that are too general or vague. Usually, these kinds of goals never lead to any success and will hardly motive you.

A survey among office workers revealed that unclear goals are the biggest cause of stress at work. Vague goals were even more stress-causing than a rough commute to the office! While the survey focused on the effects at work, many researchers agree that general goals don’t work in any area of life.

For instance, you may have the goal to be richer, happier or more content. While these are lofty goals, the don’t give you any focus or motivation. Also, these kinds of non-specific goals are not measurable and in the end, may not even make a difference. For example, a person who receives a $1 bonus will be richer that month. But will it make a difference?

An example of a specific goal would be to spend 45 minutes at the gym 3 times a week to lose X number of kilograms in 3 months.

Goals that are not reachable

Another mistake that some people make is to try to attain goals that are unattainable. Of course, goals need to push you and they take effort to reach. But a goal that in unrealistic will only cause disappointment and may even create a culture of failure.

For example, you may have a personal goal to run a marathon or a corporate goal of getting 1 million followers on Facebook. It is unrealistic to think that you will reach the goal in a month or two. The goals may be reachable at some point, but you need to focus on SMART goals that you can reach in the short-term.

Not having a completion time

One of the mistakes of not having a time to complete the goal is that you never attain it. Very often, goals that don’t have a time constraint can get pushed to the side if something urgent comes along. However, then you set a deadline, your goal becomes both important and urgent. As the deadline approaches you will have the motivation to work a little harder to reach the goal.

Another mistake to avoid is underestimating the completion time. Not allowing yourself a reasonable amount of time can either lead to failure or burnout. So, try to schedule in a little time for delays or setbacks.

Not putting goals into writing

It is just as important to commit your goals to writing as it is to put a contract into writing. The mistake of not committing goals to writing means that they lose their power. They are also easy to forget as time goes on and you face other demands for your time.

Putting goals into writing also helps to develop clarity, work out a schedule, and increase your chances of reaching them.

If you have daily or weekly goals, it is also good to put them in a place where you can see them as a constant reminder.