People who have written specific goals and maintain their commitment to those goals, most often are exceptionally successful and accomplished in the areas of life most important to them: career, family relationships, social connections, health and well-being, sense of community as well as personal and spiritual growth. In numerous studies, people with written goals accomplish as much as ten times that of the group of people with no set goals.
Why is it that so many people either don’t set goals or abandon their goals soon after they set them? 92% of people who set New Year’s resolutions abandon them within a few months. I’ve asked myself that question when I’ve failed to follow through on certain goals I’ve set.
There are numerous reasons, and I’ll mention the most common:
- They don’t realize how helpful goals can be
- They don’t know how to get started
- They find that the goals they set are unrealistically difficult and become overwhelmed
- They find that the goals they set aren’t meaningful to them, and so they abandon them
- They fear a letdown if they fail to achieve set goals, so the goals they set tend to be less meaningful
Even highly successful people who have set and achieved important goals over the years have the experience of setting some goals they just can’t or won’t follow through to successful conclusion. I’d like to explain a big part of the reason that happens. We are all subject to this to some degree.
Evidence points to a lack of emotional self-awareness.
We have explained numerous time that Emotional Self-awareness is the ability to understand your own emotions, attitudes and their effects on your behavior. You know what you are feeling and why, and how it helps or hurts you in various situations. You sense how others see you, so you have an accurate sense of your strengths and limitations. This gives you a realistic level of self-confidence. Your core values, attitudes, perceptions, assumptions and expectations are most often in alignment with your thoughts, word and behaviors, resulting in highly effective and successful outcomes.
When we have lower levels of emotional self-awareness, we tend to have conflicting perceptions and beliefs. Because lower self confidence accompanies lower self-awareness, insecurities result in poor communication and interpersonal skills. Outcomes are often disappointing.
When you look at how differing abilities in emotional self-awareness affect our behaviors and performance, and also how others react to us, it is apparent that effective goal setting can become much more of a challenge for those with low self-awareness. These people frequently second-guess themselves and tend to be defensive.
With high self-awareness, effective goal setting is much easier and results in elevated performance and success. Developing excellence in emotional self-awareness and goal setting is a matter of determination, being open to honest feedback, and good coaching. It can make a huge difference in your overall success and happiness in life and it’s yours for the taking!
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact me. Remember one single discovery can change everything for you!
Tom Searcy, BCC
Spirit of Eagles
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