Did you set goals last year and not achieve them? What obstacles prevented you from achieving your goals? Have you come up with a game plan on how you’re going to deal with those barriers in the new year? If not, you’ll be frustrated again with your lack of progress. It’s time to get a clear vision for the new year.
One thing that is inevitable when it comes to goals is obstacles, but why do some people make up their minds to achieve something and do it, while others let themselves be controlled by obstacles?
I used to live in a small house that had no dishwasher. I hate the sight of dirty dishes so I’ve always done my washing up right away. However, in this little house I found that I hated doing the dishes with a passion. When I came home, I typically used the kitchen entrance and there they would be –- waiting for me like moldy old friends.
I tried to analyze why I developed this aversion to dish washing. I came to realize that I was physically uncomfortable standing at the sink. There was a vent directly under my feet so it hurt to stand there. The double sink itself was shallow so it seemed full with only a few plates. The position of the faucet was awkward and caused me to constantly bang dishes into it when I washed them. All these obstacles combined to make me hate doing the dishes.
I removed all the obstacles with one trip to my local home store. I had a deeper double sink installed with a goose neck faucet so I wouldn’t bang things into it. I put a mat over the vent. Not just any mat –- one of those made for people who stand for long periods.
Many people wouldn’t have spent the money on a rental home, but it was worth it to me since I knew I’d live there for several years. What I learned from this experience is to analyze your situation and work relentlessly to remove obstacles.
What are some of the typical obstacles when it comes to setting goals? Without a doubt, fear is the biggest of them all. Fear can initially get you going because you don’t want to fail, but it won’t keep you going. What would your life look like if you achieved what you want? What would you have to give up? Who would you have to leave behind? It can be scary.
A close second is procrastination. Tomorrow will never come if you are a procrastinator. Remember Wimpey from the Popeye cartoon? I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. Don’t be a Wimpey — you’re just cheating yourself of your dreams.
Procrastination requires a support group. Involve family and friends to help keep you accountable. Support lets you know that people who care about you are watching.
The flip side of procrastination is simply losing interest in your goal. If you procrastinate long enough, something else will come along to divert your interest — or the naysayers have finally taken their toll.
What do you do when the thrill is gone? Diagnose the problem. Have you truly lost interest or is something pushing you towards that end? Maybe a new direction on the same goal is in order. Instead of getting a degree, take course at the local community college — just don’t give up.
Perhaps the most serious obstacle is negative self-talk. You probably don’t even realize that you are doing it. Remember the brain accepts whatever programming we give it. So if we tell it something often enough and strongly enough, it will take action and make it happen.
The antidote to negative self-talk is positive self-talk. It requires effort on our part to notice when we are thinking negatively so learn to recognize it. If necessary, write positive affirmations on a piece of paper. Say them aloud and tape them to the bathroom mirror. Read them while brushing your teeth.
When you achieve your goal, you’ll look back and realize you learned a few things about resiliency and overcoming obstacles.
Original Articles. Constant-Content.
Carolin-
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This is a great article! And so relevant in 2 ways. As great way to start 2010. And to remind us to challenge ourselves in times of financial insecurity.
Carolins last blog post..New York Day Spa, the Perfect Gift to the Woman You Love
This probably explains why people self-sabotage. Good article.
Great article, great story – I was hooked.
Andrew
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Nice article, thanks. One other reason why people don’t achieve their goal is that they are not hurting enough where they are at the moment or they are just too comfortable. With every goal you set it is important you decide on the WHY. If the why is strong enough it is much easier to achieve a goal.
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True, it has to hurt enough for you to really want it.
If you’d like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version is available too.
Just about any business you start is going to take a ton of work and dedication. But I know for a fact that a woodworking business can be profitable. I know a guy in our small community who basically owns the market on cabinet making. People come from the big city to the small town for his cabinets.
Procrastination is a lot like credit, sooner or later you must pay your debt, or in the case of procrastination, one must face what they put off. One thing that helps me is to organize things that need to get done in a personal scheduler, and stick to it. No excuses.
.-= Ways to stop procrastination´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
For me, Being successful is all about I can have a good food 3 time a day, have good healty body, have good family and sleep well.
This is all I want in this life. I wonder why everyone want too much money. When you die you can bring it with you.
.-= Boma@Carpet Shampooer´s last blog ..What will happen if Your Carpet is Dirty? =-.
I find that I have many small obstacles that need to be overcome. It’s easy to procrastinate and leave these obstacles for a later date. I like to focus on completing a goal and leave these smaller obstacles. What happens is that they never get accomplished. perhaps I need a more detailed plan and which day I work on each task and obstacle. This is an issue of priorities.
Before I was the “pro” in procrastination. What I did was I created a dream board which is a cut out pictures of my dreams and goals. I then placed this dream board on my headboard so that I’ll be reminded of my dreams and aspirations every time I wake up in the morning.
The road to success is a rough one. Blockades will get in the way. A series of detours can cause you to lose focus. But when you know which way you want to go or you are clear about where you want to be at, you will eventually get to your destination.
Great tips for people who are stuck in petty issues and are not able to get to their goals. Most people will give up on dish washing rather than thinking about what are the actual problems in environment. Seems like it was not the act of washing the dishes but just the environment that made you hate the task. Most often obstacles are difficult to identify. Any ‘organized’ methods to locate such obstacles?
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I think one of the must difficult thing to do in the world is having an inflexible purpose. I mean inflexible purpose as the capacity of taking a decisions and keep it running till the end. Few people have this capacity. The real thing is there are a lot obstacles ahead and in order to reach our goals we must defeat them.
A day a good friend gave me the creepiest advice I ever had but in my opinion it was the wisest of all advice I ever received. He told me this: “you have to realize you are not going to be in this earth forever, you are not immortal and some day you are going to pass away. You do not know when this day is going to come, could be tomorrow or could be in 50 years who knows. So you real waiting is not becoming rich but waiting for that awful moment. However, while you wait for it you can surround yourself of beauty and do everything you want to do. What you can’t prevent is the fact you are going to die someday. That is impossible! Compared with that awful moment all other thoughts and issues are nothing. There are no real barriers of what you can do. Live as it were your last day in earth. Live at maximum. There is no impossible reach your goals!!! you do not have time!”
Those words helped to determine that my obstacles can be defeated. Hope this complements your great article.
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Excellent article. The Outer World reflects (mirrors) the Inner World. In order to change one’s Inner World one needs to acknowledge the obstacle and then get support if necessary. Bach Flower Remedies, Flower
Essences, hypnotherapy including past life regression are just a few of the modalities that can assist an individual in changing their Inner World. Of course prayer to the Universal Divine Mind is always beneficial.