The Top Ten Goal Setting Goofs

Life Tip #4

To successfully achieve your goals, an essential ingredient is being clear-sighted about what will motivate you to love your life (or that aspect of your life), when those milestones are reached.

While goal setting is often a lofty idea, it can be all too easy to fall into these common traps:

• Too wishy-washy – if you are serious about your goal(s), commit it to writing, remembering that a goal not written down is merely a wish!
• Too easy or too difficult-allows you to rationalize why you didn't follow through (this does not mean you cannot be flexible and "tweak"the goal if necessary).
• Whose goal is it anyway - your own, or one suggested by others? If it's not one you truly believe in, this is a sure way to sabotage yourself!
• Viewing setbacks as failures, rather than lessons learned along the way-this perspective can be particularly helpful in refining goals.
• To remove a "bad" behavior, what will you substitute? – be crystal clear about this and be REALISTICALLY prepared for a great deal of practice and perseverance.
• Broadcasting the goal to others who are not necessarily supportive opens you up to ridicule and readily being undermined.
• Not examining the underlying fears - if one behavior is changed, knowing (whether consciously or not), that other things will also be altered.
• Honestly enumerating ALL the things that are hindering you from -this can be particularly helpful in refining goals.
• Warring goals- this may particularly happen with short term vs. long progress - try using the "S.M.A.R.T." method:

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Relevant

T = Timely

And remember, taking action is the catalyst for change!

Adriane Schuster, M.A. M.F.C.C. Life/Business

CoachCopyright © 2007 Adriane Schuster All Rights Reserved

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