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The Trap of Goal Setting

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Why do some people who really desire success and work tirelessly fail to achieve it? Why is it that
sometimes in spite of careful planning and vigorous efforts things still don't happen?

Sometimes it seems like people who are very clear about what they want and have very clearly outlined
goals still fail to achieve worthwhile success. This in turn leads to frustration, which causes a cycle of
defeat that ends up doing a lot of damage to their enthusiasm and belief in themselves. There have
been many people who have tried and followed good advice on goal setting and achieving their dreams
and have only ended up disappointed because, although they did everything they were told to do but
they did not get the results they expected to get.

Many people have read lots of books on how to succeed, how to make money, how to set and achieve
goals and a dozen other promising titles. In spite of this, progress seems to be very slow if at all. What
is missing? What are they doing wrong? One possible answer is that they would be spending too much
time on goal setting and goal checklists.

Dr. John Elliot, author of “When Goals Fall Flat!” wrote about a man who was very successful outwardly,
earning millions of dollars, but he was neither happy nor satisfied with his life as a top salesman. He said
of the man “As we talked at greater length, I discovered that Henry had fallen into the trap of relying
on goal setting to navigate his career and define his success to define him.” He says he has seen many
cases of such people who “get caught up creating and checking off to-do lists for all of their personal
and professional responsibilities.” Whilst such people often are rewarded greatly for their efforts, it is
often at the great expense of lost time with their families and lost time for themselves. Most of all, these
people do not feel fulfilled with their lives. They are held captive by the perfectionism of goal setting.

There is clearly a danger in being too meticulous and planning everything to the last detail. I remember
meeting a colleague one evening who told me that he enjoys reading the articles I write, but he felt that
they were always so serious and made it seem like life had to always be so well planned and thought
out. To him, they took the fun out of life. I told him that wasn't the idea and that I totally agreed that life
should not be an affair totally full of goals, study and all with no spontaneity. There has to be room for
fun, spontaneity and the unexpected to happen. It is for these reasons that I shun books or programs
that have page after page of goal setting exercises and daily checklists and benchmarks. It is like the 200
page “how to study for an exam” books that I often came across whilst studying. If you spend your time
reading such a book and mastering what it says, when are you going to have the time to study? It is the
same with goals. If you spend all your time writing, analysing and perfecting goals and ticking checklists,
when are you going to have the time to actually achieve anything?

Editor's Desk

Fundamental Success scripts being true to your word is easy

  Say you’re going to do something and then do it. If you make plans to meet your friend, don’t ditch him for some random date. Likewise, if you commit to go on a date with someone, don’t back out at the last minute for no good reason. If you don’t want to commit, don’t commit. If you’re not sure whether you can, check and see. If circumstances change and you have to adapt or postpone the arrangement, that’s fine too. If someone doesn’t want to make an appointment and then realize he’d rather chill instead. He doesn’t want to give ... Read More

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