Finding success in life isn’t about achieving every goal you set. Any entrepreneur can tell you failure is just another step in the journey to success. What’s important is how you react to those failures.
In fact, most people don’t meet their goals, as evidenced in a study from the University of Scranton that found only 8% of people achieve their goals. This means 92% of people fail. Goal-failure can have critical consequences including absenteeism, lower motivation, or avoiding challenging tasks, according to a study by Höpfner and Keith (2021) published in Frontiers in Psychology.
However, don’t waste valuable time without dwelling on missed goals. This drains your energy and feelings of self-worth, making it harder to get back on track. To move forward, it’s important to assess whether poor goal setting is what tripped you up. This is all too common, but setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals can help you succeed.
Drill Down
Rather than setting a broad goal, like “achieving better success at work,” set specific, measurable benchmarks, such as reaching a certain position or making a target salary. To support this long-term goal, assign yourself medium-term steps, which you’ll need to accomplish to reach your target. Get feedback from your boss or mentor on what you’ll need to do to meet this goal, and which stumbling blocks you may have to overcome.
Keep It Real
If the only way to meet your goal is to work a 70-hour work week for the next year, you’ll likely burn out. Challenging yourself is important, but if goals are too complex or difficult to reach, you’ll wind up exhausted and may be unable to maintain your responsibilities. Fatigue and burnout often lead to mistakes that limit your abilities to achieve your goals.
Check Your Time
Once you have goals in place, it’s essential to align time management with your plan. This will help you determine whether the way you spend your time now will allow you to reach your future goals. Look for things that bog you down, distract you, or steal time from your objectives. The idea is to find any areas of misalignment, and then adjust your workflow or the goal, as needed.
Don’t Go It Alone
It’s easier to meet goals when you have sound advice and guidance from others. Asking for and accepting help and support from others is essential to success.
Friends and family can be your greatest cheerleaders and offer helpful encouragement. On the business side, your best bet is to find a mentor who is knowledgeable in your field. A good mentor can help you stay focused on your goals, suggest new strategies you may not have considered, and hold you accountable if you become distracted from your plan.
Better goal setting can make a real difference in your ability to overcome roadblocks on your path to success. Before you set your next round of goals, make sure you take a moment to enjoy your success. Celebrate with those who supported your journey. Then, consider which goal setting elements helped you get where you are, and use them to set your vision for the future.
About Express Employment International
Express Employment International supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and affiliated brands, including Specialized Recruiting Group and Express Healthcare Staffing. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
