5 Myths About Goal Setting
I see many people setting goals every day but still not getting to where they want to be. There is so much conversation about measurable goals, goal planning, and smart goals. So, why do you still have to wonder why you can’t achieve your goals?
Now that we have taken a look at a method that can be used to determine If you use your time wisely and then thought about time management and your goals, it seems like a great time to talk about some goal setting myths.
Maslow’s Theory of Needs
Most likely, everyone reading this has heard of Maslow’s book called Motivation and Personality (1954), or at least his Hierarchy of Needs theory which is explained in that book. I don’t want to go into too much detail here (because that is boring), but I think that it is important to mention that goal setting is always based upon some need. Otherwise, why would someone have set a specific goal?
Also, I think that it is really important to stress that understanding how you relate to this chart will help you to define your life balance. While doing so requires a bit of effort, paying attention to this has been really worthwhile for me.
The Hierarchy of Needs can be represented in the following way:
Goal Setting Theory
Another great resource that you can use if you want to really understand goal setting is Locke and Latham’s paper “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation” outlines the 5 characteristics required in a goal’s wording to motivate. These are Clarity, Challenge, Commitment, Feedback, and Task complexity.
5 Myths About Goal Setting
- You Don’t Need to Set Goals – I have heard many people say things like “goal setting takes too much time” and “I have always just done what I felt like doing and everything has worked out for me so far.” Determining your goals can be difficult, but it has been so important for me to set goals because it has given me the opportunity to really think about and discover what it is that I want to accomplish. Without really thinking about what you want to accomplish and why, it seems to me that goals seem like dreams or perhaps become forgotten.
- You Don’t Need to Write Down Goals – So much time can go into deciding what you want to do. Why not write down your goals once you have determined what you want them to be? Without a road map, it is much harder to arrive where you intend to.
- Hard Work Is Enough – There really is no reason to work harder than you need to, and hard work alone will not allow you to achieve your goals. You need to determine your goals and write them down! Then you need to make a plan for how you will achieve each of your objectives.
- You Don’t Need Help From Anyone – Of these 5 myths, this is the one that gets to me the most. I can’t think of any people that I know who achieved their goals without the help of someone. Once you have your plan, think about who might be able to help you in your quest. One of these people could mean the difference between failure and success.
- You Only Need To Look At Your Goals Once A Year – For some reason, and I don’t know what it is, there are many people who set goals every year and then don’t go back to them until the next year. Really, the time period is not important as long as it is often enough for you to be able to reevaluate them and take action soon enough for it to have an impact. You should have goals for the next week, the next month, the next year, and possibly 5 years from now. Without this roadmap and without periodic reevaluation of these goals, how do you know you are getting to where you want to be in life?
Conclusion
Writing down your goals makes you accountable and looking at them at least every week is essential. At least, in my opinion, there is no way that we can achieve goals that we are not always aware of. The second you forget is the second that you stop achieving your goals.
Your Turn
What other myths can you think of regarding goal setting?
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Mark,
I am huge fan of Maslow and his theory of need. Many times, we may get basic needs fulfilled but feeling of importance is always something most of working hard on getting it.
I like the way you have myths about goal settings are explained. I would like to add #6, it is okay to forget productivity once in a while to recharge yourself, it should not be goal, productivity all the time, we may burn out otherwise.
This is turning out to be a great series, Mark!
Preeti @ Heart and Mind´s last [type] ..10 Life lessons that I wished I had learned earlier – Part 2
Hi Preeti,
You are very right, of course, about our need to take a break every now and then. I know that in my life, the more simply I live, the better I feel.
Have a great day!
Twitter: websitebegin
said:
Great post, Mark.
You need to set goals that aren’t too far fetched, but aren’t as easy as taking two steps forward.
Your goals should be what pushes you to succeed, almost like the idea of putting a chicken leg at the end of a treadmill. A huge guy (or girl
) will die to get it, and you should be doing much of the same with your blog.
You are hilarious lately. How did you know that I hang a chicken leg at the end of my treadmill?
Very good point about the need to set realistic goals Joe.
Have a great day!
Twitter: Brandon_Connell
said:
Believe it or not, I am a memory guy. I write down my goals in my head. I know that for most people, that won’t work. And I get a lot of grumbles from people who don’t understand how it is possible for me to do that. But it saves on trees!
Brandon Connell´s last [type] ..Self hosted blog- or you will be shut down!
Ha, well, fair enough. That definitely would not work for me. My guess is that this will make you even more popular with most plants.
Have a great day!
Twitter: writeandchange
said:
I can so relate to number 5. I avoid getting pulled into all those early January conversations about New Year resolutions because I know how smug I’ll sound telling everyone I don’t make them because I already have everything under control! All I mean is that I’m constantly setting, reaching, changing, tweaking, re-visiting or even (when I realise they’re no longer meaningful to me) abandoning my goals. I don’t wait for a set day to do it. Love this post. Off to share it right now
Karen´s last [type] ..Empowerment for Writers
Ha. I hate those conversations. Really, I used to hate them because I could never remember what my new goals were the next day. I now tend to do much like you describe. I keep a list with me and look at it every day. Then I make adjustments as needed.
Thank you so much for the visit and comments!
Twitter: sallyneill
said:
Hey Mark
Fabulous post, I am terrible for setting goals, maybe not setting them, but certainly writing them down and sticking to them.
I think it’s important to get help from others, and I am going to start making myself accountable to other people now, it seems I don’t mind letting myself down, but when it comes to other people I don’t want to let them down.
Sally
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I can relate to that. It seems like many people fall into a pattern where, when they don’t accomplish something that they really wanted to, they just make excuses or think that they are not capable.
Certainly, putting your goals out in front of other people is one way to help to keep yourself motivated. It also helps to mention your progress to them sometimes.
Have a great day Sally!
Mark,
It’s necessary to set up short term and long term goals to keep yourself on track and keep evolving. Nice post and keep up the great work.
Hey Justin,
As long as you pay attention to your goals and stay aware of your progress, goal setting can be life changing.
Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: SocialSammy
said:
Hi Mark
I really like number 3 – “Hard Work Is Enough” – to add to what you’ve said about determining your goals and writing them down I also believe that your need to create time and space where you’re not swamped with work so that you can take a creative breath. I
n my experience half of my goals are achieved by spending about 95% of my time working super hard and about 5% of my time on lateral thinking. But this 5% of my time spent lateral thinking is what makes the other 95% possible.
I really like how you’ve thrown in Maslow’s Hierarchy (I used it for many of my undergrad assignments) – the use of it in this context is a timely reminder for me to finish covering off some base needs before I try to self actualize. This might be a typical blogger thing but I thnk I spend far too much time in this space without thinking about basic foundational needs. – Thanks for the reminder!
Sam Schuurman´s last [type] ..Balancing A Curious Mind With A Clearly Defined Role
Very good point Sam. It is a good day to include spending some time relaxing in our goals.
iThnk you are onto something.
Have a great day!
Twitter: buildrankprofit
said:
Nice response Sam!
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Twitter: kruby
said:
Hi Mark,
Another myth would be that each goal is as important as another goal. Not true! We often have things that we want to have, be, do in life as part of our goal list, but they are not created equal nor can they be done at the same time. It’s important to go through your written down goal list and categorize goals that have more weight and priority in your life. Do the goal that will make the most impact and will mean the most to you, rather than an easier goal or less time-consuming one. For instance, exercise and getting fit can impact so much of your life and yet people put it off in order to achieve a less priority goal. Also, I think it’s important to look at your goals and realize that you can’t do them all at once or even in your lifetime. Some will have to be abandoned so that you can concentrate on the ones that you really will be able to achieve and that you really want in your life.
Karen
Karen´s last [type] ..4 Best And Worst Things About Being An Entrepreneur – Guest Post
Excellent additions! It is like you are reading my mind actually. Prioritizing goals will be the subject of a post next week (only partially written now).
Your point about exercise is great. I know that I have put off more important things because something else had the appearance of greater need.
As always, thank you very much for your thoughtful contributions Karen!
Have a great day
I enjoyed this post.
Since goals are my thing, I could go on and on. I won’t do that, but would love to make a few points: a goal must be something we really really want to do, be or have. In my book, there are no “shoulds” allowed in your goals list because you’ll probably never achieve that goal if it’s a should and not something you really really want.
I have my own definition of a goal: a desired result which is a step towards a bigger vision, and to which an action plan is attached.
To my mind’s eye, a goal is only a goal if it’s attached to a plan of action. Without an accompanying action plan, your “goal” is nothing more than a wish or desire.
In addition, a goal is more than just a result, or something you want. A goal is a step toward something bigger…your vision.
Valerie Taloni (The Goal Diva)´s last [type] ..How Committed Are You to Achieving Your Goals
Hi Valerie,
I like your definition of the word goal. In Time Management and Your Goals I gave a similar definition and then described the difference between a goal and an objective. I also defined ‘dream’ which seems very similar to what you mean when you say ‘vision’.
The thing that I really love that you said is “…a goal is only a goal if it’s attached to a plan of action.” I don’t know that I would phrase it like that, but I love the idea. Really, what is an unmet goal other than a bunch of words that someone did not act on.
Thank you for the thoughtful comment!
Have a great day
Hi Mark,
A big thing to remember about goals is that with victory there follows a hollowness. The reason we set goals is because of the thrill we get in creating ourselves anew and expressing more and more of our creativity.
rob white´s last [type] ..How to Take Command of the Mind
That is a good point. I have experienced that ‘hollowness’ many times when certain goals have been met. That is especially true when the goal is large and a simple task (climbing a mountain, for example). Once it is over, if there is not another goal to be achieved on your way to your dream, it can be kind of tough on you.
Great idea about recreating yourself. It seems to me that the recreation should be a goal for every day.
Thanks Rob!
In my experience there are almost as many myths as there are people. One that isn’t obvious is this: People just “know” (or it’s easy to find out) how to set worthwhile, achievable goals that are congruent with their life’s purposes, core values and other goals they may have set….
Truth is, most of us have to be taught and mentored through this process the first few times. Once I learned how, I built a process and important questions to ask myself into the software I use to help me navigate around all the myths you and your worthy readers pointed out.
Thanks for the dialog. (IMHO) America’s suffering from a lack of individual goal setting know how.
Hi Bruce,
I agree that it does take some thought and a decent method to properly define your goals. There is no question that I would not be as good at it as I am (there is still room for improvement, of course
) if I had not worked on learning a solid method.
I can’t really speak for America, but I can say that there is likely always room for improvement in goal setting. It seems that learning how to set and achieve goals should be a goal for most people, even those who have been doing it for a while.
Thank you for your thoughts!
Twitter: bizznurse
said:
Hi Mark,
8 years ago I remember one of my classmates said this to me..
“Lynn, you’re a person who know your goal and you can go far…the problem is, you’re too good at planning it, but once you slipped from your planned track, you easily let yourself fall and fail…”
Yup, I’m that kind of person, very enthusiastic in making goals…my problem is… I let myself easily frustrated when I stray away even for a while.
I have this problem since I am a child. Now, as a blogger who currently climbing the walls of make money online, I fall in the same trap. I really need to wake up this time…not just making goals, but making the goals a reality.
Now, the tides are changing, I want to succeed in this blogging world. I may not follow what I have planned, but I wouldn’t stop until I met my goal…to be one of the top successful blogger . Life goal is like the football goal… You need to kick the ball in…either directly or indirectly. Even if the ball hit the bars..you still got a chance of striking a “Goal”!!
Hi Lynn,
I think that I can relate to what you are saying. For me, an important step in achieving my goals has been to break them down into smaller parts (tasks) and imagining how each can be done easily. I believe that I will be writing a bit more about this next week, actually.
Thank you for the visit & for sharing your story!
Twitter: Rick_Byrd
said:
Mark:
Thanks for the great post.
Accountability would be my problem.
Sure I can write them out but sometimes thats where it stops. I may not look at those goals for months and as you know it is too late then. So I get frustrated with myself, write new goals and then not look at them for months and the cycle continues.
Another myth to include is “It takes too much time”. Hogwash…the time invested to set goals far outweighs the posibility of getting no where.
Thanks for this series on Goals.
- Rick
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Hey Rick,
I think many people determine their goals and then forget about them. Determining a period of time between goal setting, carrying out tasks to achieve those goals and revisiting your goals to ensure that you are working towards your objectives is critical.
And, it is definitely a place where I have had problems in the past. I ended up writing mine in a notebook that I used everyday. That really helped.
I love what you said about the time it takes to set goals. Very well said.
Have a great day!
hi mark,
how are you?
hope you’ve had a lovely day so far and thanks for sharing this
if i may add the following myths please
setting and carrying out your goals are easy tasks.
you goals can be far fetched and you should be excessively optimistic.(i subscribe to the school of thought that promotes moderate optimism)
i once heard someone say if you cant achieve your goals then you are a complete failure (i believe thats an unreasonable statement to make)
take care of yourself and enjoy the rest of the day
ayo´s last [type] ..25 Reasons Not To Lose Your Temper
These are great additions & you raise a point that I was (well, am) going to mention in the next on in this series. That is, goal setting does not make the tasks you have to perform easier. It only keeps your efforts focused.
Also, I tend to try to be as realistic as possible. Unfortunately, that is difficult. But, that does not mean that giving your goals some real thought is not worth it.
The idea that a person should be able to reach all of their goals does not seem completely realistic to me. The person who does not learn from their mistakes seems more like a “failure” to me.
Those are great additions! Thank you Ayo!
Twitter: freelancerant
said:
I think another myth of goal setting is that if we don’t achieve a certain goal by a specific date, then we failed. I know it has happened to me and sometimes that failure has kept me from pursuing other goals too.
We just have to realize that sometimes there just isn’t enough time to complete it or maybe it’s impossible or not worthwhile to pursue anymore. This is just as long as we have other goals to keep us moving forward.
Johnny´s last [type] ..Winning The War on Computer Disasters
That is an interesting point. I know that there have been times in my life where I missed a deadline, and when that happened I did feel bad about it. One thing that I have done to reduce this as a possibility is to reevaluate my goals periodically. It is especially helpful for meeting deadlines (or knowing when to adjust them).
Thanks for visiting Johnny & have a great day!
Twitter: buildrankprofit
said:
Hey Mark,
Firstly I hate to bring a downer on your day but you owe me a new mouse ball/laser thingy. Mine broke scrolling down here to make a comment and I feel that if you had not build such a strong community around honest, unique and awesome content then I would not have had to come this far down the page. Therefore I have no choice but to ask that you replace my mouse as soon as is feasible.
Great post that concretes what I feel is the most important aspect to any goal – and that is being accountable!
I am really liking how your latest posts are all so interconnected and I think this is a very good addition to the resource you are already providing. This is also good for SEO since you can link all your sites together with nice keywords.
Perhaps you have already done this because you are ranked 4th out of 230,000 for ‘myths about goal setting’
NICE!!
Alex´s last [type] ..Article Marketing – Part 1 What’s a Search Engine
Ha! So my plan has worked! I will one day destroy all of the mouse ball/laser thingies in Australia!
It seems like follow through on one’s goals tends to be the hardest part for many people.
Yeah, I have a few more ideas for goals-related posts. I think it is an important topic. Its great that you took a look at that keyword thingy. I have been picking up a few things from great sites like yours.
Much appreciated Alex. Have a great day!
Twitter: AndBreak
said:
I believe that setting a goal is very important. As you have mentioned without it you will lose track of what your original goals were.
The thing is though that there are different kind of goals. First of all there are goals like “I want to make $1000 per month this year”. These kind of goals are not as good as others because every time you reach that goal you have to set a new one. That way you only focus on material-driven goals.
Value-based goals are much more important. Such a goal might be “I want help out other people in need”. The thing with this goal is that you will never actually be able to reach it. Yet every time you do help someone out you have achieved something and you feel a lot better.
Anyway I hope you understand what I meant
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Twitter: lionslinger
said:
If there’s one thing missing in my pursuit of success that is getting help. Frankly, I don’t know how to reach out for help. Even more is that I don’t know where to find the right person to ask for help.
Sad isn’t it?
I would not feel too bad about it Walter. Not knowing where to go to learn very specific information is very common. Though, that does not make it any easier.
I think that it is one of the larger elements of being what we think of as privileged vs. non-privileged.
More about that in the future. Until then, have a good day!
I totally agree, you need to at least check your goals from time to time in order to keep in track. Otherwise, you won’t achieve anything in the long run. Like what you’ve said, you might forget about your goals and will start on new activities not in connection with your goals.
Mike Ramsey´s last [type] ..Tips On How To Stop Excessive Sweating
When I was a kid, my father taught me to play baseball and he used to say “keep your eye on the ball”.
Thanks for the comment Mike!
Setting a goal for future is an brilliant idea. Having a goal for future is a one way for your success because it can manage your status that will help you a lot and boost your improvement. But in setting a goal you must be focus on what you are now facing, it is one way how you can improve your goals.
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I was listening to a presentation from Brian Tracy (I’m pretty sure it was his presentation) where the point was brought up that the mind can’t really comprehend ways to acheieve a 5 year goal. The furthest out he was saying the mind could actually make a plan for was 1 year. I hadn’t heard this before, but I will have to say that thinking about goals for us, it’s a lot easier to think about steps we need to take for a 1 year goal than for a 5.
What are your thoughts? Do you think planning out 5 or 10 years is too long?
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Hi TJ,
That is an interesting point. I know that I have trouble planning for more than a few months at a time. Personally, I do have 5-year ideas. And, I plan some of what I do now according to them. But, they need to be very high level and able to change at any point in time.
So, while I agree that you can’t plan very specifically for your longer-term wants, I do think that you can use your dreams as a way to develop your current ambitions.
Great question! Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve been studying “goal setting” for over 20 years, and without actually setting a few goals, I would not have changed, grown, learned, much at all!!! I also would not have experienced and achieved as much as I have in the past 20 years.
As I continue to study “goal setting” (even with over 20 years of study and practice I don’t consider myself a master at goal setting — more like in elementary school with my goal setting skills), I am now convinced that to have the most effective goal setting skills requires good brain integration skills (something I’ve been studying and applying for only the past 7-8 years, and which I’m now starting to share and teach).
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience and for creating a community — ur Myth #4 is, I agree, one of the biggest and most damaging myths. We are social animals. We are group animals. We are wired for “team living” and community. There is no goal worth aiming for (except you know what) that can be achieved without a team of others.
Tom
Tom
Tom Huntington´s last [type] ..There’s Nothing Wrong- There’s Only Reality
Hi Tom,
Really excellent point – we really can’t work in isolation. Hmm….brain skills. I could use those sometimes!
Have a great day!
hi mark,
In maslow’s hierarchy of needs self actualization is the highest goal to attain. And the most important is the love and belongingness of the family. I’ve been setting my goal and for me to attain that certain I had many ways to consider and sacrifice in attaining that goal. We can set goals but be sure it is a smart goal.
s- Specifically
m- measurable
a-attainable
r- realistic
t- time bounded
I am a big fan of SMART goals too. Thanks for visiting!