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Are You Obsessed with Goals?

Are You Obsessed with Goals?

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Are You Obsessed with Goals? If you are not, maybe you should! Obsession may be an exaggeration, but focus and concentration on your goals is the difference between success and failure.

Goals

Simply obsessing about goals will not help you achieve them! Working hard will not work either! Working toward goals is something everyone should do, but few achieve their goals. Is it because the goals are not Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART goals)? No! When I was young, I remember adults asking me what I wanted to do as a career. Very few told me how to do it! Setting goals is only part of the solution. You need a plan.

Plan

A plan details how you get to your destination or goal. It is sort of a road map. Breaking down a huge goal is part of planning. If a cake is the goal, then a recipe is the plan. So you develop a plan for your goals. It is really detailed to actually include daily and weekly tasks. You monitor your progress and adjust your efforts. It sounds like you are on your way or are you? Focus and concentration is important too.

Focus on your Goals

Keep it simple so you can easily focus and concentrate on the goal. Keep your goal in front of you so you can focus on it. I would make up signs and put it on the mirror, in the car and on my desk. I put signs all over so I would not lose focus or forget what was important. It is not easy to keep focused and concentrate on your goal. It doesn’t stop there! You must concentrate on your plan and perform the tasks to achieve the goal. If I keep the goal in front of me, I cannot forget it or lose focus.

Compelling Reason

Think about your last goal. Maybe you wanted to lose weight, start a business or make a change. Why did you fail? Was it because you lost focus or concentration? Maybe! It was probably because you did have a strong enough reason to achieve the goal. Of course I did, I wanted to lose the weight to be healthier. Your reason must be stronger or more important than the difficulties of achieving your goal. What is going to get you through those days as you change your habits to achieve your goals?

It is hard work to establish or change your habits to achieve a goal. You need a compelling reason because change is difficult. What works for some will not work for everyone? It is personal! You need to find a reason or motivation that works for you. When I was on a diet and discouraged with the amount of weight loss, I devised a strategy that worked for me. I changed my diet and activity level. What works for you?

Strategy

My plan has daily tasks similar to a check list. I know that I must perform those tasks every day and I hold myself accountable for completing them each and every day. Is it discipline, focus or concentration? Could it be obsession? I do not know, but it works because I achieve the results. I apply this strategy to all my goals, personal or professional. I have a reputation of getting things done! Sometimes, I fail, but I always learn from it.

Failure can be a very good lesson. Monitoring your progress and adjusting your efforts is important. Reflecting on mistakes or failure is a good way to learn why you did not succeed. Sometimes, I learn more from my mistakes than from my successes. I wrote an article about Successful vs. Unsuccessful People focusing on traits that make them successful. Successful people do not quit!

Quitting is not an option. My determination keeps me trying when others give up. Many people give up too soon. They get discouraged and quit. Losing weight is typical of people quitting too soon. What do you do when you are faced with difficulty? Do you give up? If you did not succeed, you gave up! Did you make a good effort? Why not? Making a sufficient effort is key to success.

Final Thoughts

What do you want to achieve in your life? Make it important by making it the focus of your effort. Find reasons for success, they call it motivation. Develop your plan to achieve your goals. A good plan includes daily, weekly or monthly tasks to reach your goal. You have to stay focused on those tasks to reach your goals. When you fail, keep going! Successful people fail often, but they keep trying. What are you going to do? What is your plan? Are You Obsessed with Goals?

Photo by: Patrick Hoesly

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Comments

  1. I can get borderline obsessive on goals.  I try to set smaller, manageable goals along the way toward big goals, as reaching some of the smaller milestones keeps you focused on the ‘bigger’ prize!

    • Absolutely! I routinely break big goals down to tasks which I can understand and see progress toward the bigger goal.

  2. I have learned that smaller baby step goals work better. When I try to bite off too much at one time I get overwhelmed and frustrated. I feel much better when I can make little accomplishments on a regular basis. 

  3. I can get pretty obsessive with goals. I try to set a lot of smaller milestones to make sure I am on the right track and my husband keeps me accountable. Accomplishments motivates me, that is one of my weakness. I tend to become discouraged a lot faster if I get a string of failures. I am slowly changing that.

    • Sometimes failure motivates me more! The line between obsession and focus is very thin, but I sometimes cross back and forth.

  4. I can get a bit over zealous on my goal setting – I’m still learning to set small manageable goals and persevere until they are achieved. 

    • There is nothing wrong reaching a little past your comfort zone. Stretching yourself help you grow.

  5. Yep, I’m obsessed. I try to look at everything from a wholistic viewpoint and feel that as long as I’m making progress, I’m doing okay. But I always push myself to do better!

    • I tend to focus on my goals and work really hard to achieve them.Borderline obsession or just focused!

  9. I use to be loosey goosey, but lately I’m starting to become more goal oriented too.  There are some things in my life lately that has given me greater focus…

  10. I’ve always kept my goals in my head but I never took the time to write them down or share them. I’ve found that as I’ve started doing those things, they’ve become more real and I’ve had more incentive to try to follow through with them. I don’t obsess, but I try to keep focused. 

    • Stay focused and keep your goals in front of you. Monitoring your progress and adjusting your efforts is also part of working toward your goals.

    • I still check my goals, portfolio, and my lists daily. There is a thin line between obsession and focused. I thrive on meeting or exceeding my goals. Results are everything!

    • I understand, I am just a thin line away from obsession. I am very focused on achieving goals.

  13. Obviously (at least to me as a project manager), setting a a goal and establishing a plan to get there, as are monitoring your progress and celebrating small victories along the way.

    Just as important is to periodically review and re-evaluate your goals.  Are they still appropriate and in line with your mission and your vision of the future. 

    • I share the same strategy. I took this business approach to goal setting and use as a personal strategy. It works very well for me!

  14. Its kind of weird, I think american need goals. Lets be honest you could probably go your whole life in america with no goals, but would you be happy?

    • I suppose that is possible, but I thrive on goals. I love the feeling of accomplishing goals, but I am 2nd generation American. Maybe that is the reason!

    • The most you do it, the better you become. You learn more from the failures than the successes.

  18. I am definitely obsessed with goals. But I agree with what you’re saying here, that you have to actually achieve them before anything comes of it. Writing down a goal is just the start, you have to write down a plan of action, and ways you can stay on track. I especially like your advice to “Keep it simple..” 
    This is a great post!

    • Thanks, it worked for me! I achieved financial freedom at 38 years old because of goals and a plan.