5 Reasons for Failure and Tips on Achieving Your Goals

It's again the end of another year. I, like many other people, try to reflect on how the past year had been. One of the things I look at is how successful I was in achieving the goals I set within that year. Looking back at all the goals I set at the start of the year onward, I am not surprised to see that while I accomplished some, there are others which I did not succeed in accomplishing them.

Before I start another year, to help me set goals that I will actually achieve, I need to self-evaluate and look at the reasons why I failed to achieve some of my goals. I would like to share in this hub the top 5 reasons why I failed and the tips on how I can improve how I set my goals.

1. Losing the Passion.

At the time when I set the goals, I feel so much passion towards achieving that goal. For example, I set one goal to lose weight and written down some specific actions steps on how to do it. I tried to do those little action steps religiously. But then it happened. I missed one day, two days, three days. And before I knew it, I lost the passion in doing what I have set myself to do. Has this happened to you?

How do people keep the passion in doing something? First, I need to settle in my heart and mind that it is something that I really want to do. Then, it is important that I always remind myself about it. People, like me, can be forgetful, you know. So, it is better to put up in visible places a reminder of my daily goals or actions steps.

2. No Accountability.

I thought I can do it on my own. I might have told someone else that I am committed to achieving something, but I never held myself accountable to them. It would have been better if I told that someone to watch over my progress; to remind me and encourage me to keep on doing what I aimed for.

Or maybe I should have found someone with whom I can do these things together. We can look at how each of us are progressing and encourage one another when feeling like giving up. I like how it went when I tried the 30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge in November. Though I did not succeed in writing the 30 hubs, I am thankful for the people who gave me encouragement in the forum especially homesteadbound.

3. Lots of Time Wasters.

Alas. I think this is the number one culprit when it comes to failing to achieve goals. There are just so many things that can distract us from doing what we need to do. There are the tele-novelas and other television programs, phone calls from friends, checking the emails every now and then, logging into Facebook, taking a look at that interesting webpage or article, little kids at home who are beckoning you to do something for them and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes, it is difficult to say No. But I have to learn to discipline myself. First off, identify these time wasters and second do everything I can to avoid them as much as possible. Turn off the TV and the computer or maybe unhook the telephone. I have to focus on what I really intend to do for the day, so having a to-do list is really helpful. After accomplishing the tasks on my list, then maybe I can do the other things. Of course, there are some things that I just can't help but do them right away (I'm talking about things pertaining to caring for my kids.) But I have to be sure to refocus afterward on the really important task that must be done.

4. No Rewards.

A reward is a very effective fuel for passion and perseverance. And when I keep on doing and doing something without seeing any rewards, I may have the tendency to lose interest.

Of course, reaching the end of a goal may take a while. So, if I could divide my big goal into mini-goals where I can see some immediate result, then I would probably feel more motivated to keep on going. Or another way to do it is to reward myself if I am consistently doing my part towards achieving that goal after a short, pre-determined period of time.

I read an article where the author does the rewarding another way. To achieve his set goal, the writer tells himself, I will not do this (a reward like buy myself new clothes or go out to play tennis) without finishing this (goal) first. Well, it works for him.

5. Unwilling to Change.

Now, there are goals that are not easily achievable. For me, after giving birth and gaining all the pounds, losing weight is difficult. Most of the culprits of my weight gain, have become part of my habits. Truth be told, I cannot achieve my goal of losing weight if I don't change and break some of these habits.

Change - it is easier said than done. I have to settle first in my heart to really be willing to change. Because if I keep on doing what I am doing now, I would keep on getting the same old results. But if I change, then I might get the results I want. It is something that I have to actively decide on everyday. So, the big question is "Am I willing to change?" Are you?

To conclude this hub, these points - losing the passion, no accountability, lots of time wasters, no rewards and unwilling to change - are just some of the reasons I found which hindered me from achieving my goals. There are more which you may be able to identify in your personal experience. Feel free to share them in the comments section. They may be also just what I need to work on towards setting new goals for myself that I can actually achieve.

I hope this hub has been helpful to you.