Blog Post: Are You an Effective Goal Setter?

There have been many studies conducted that support the importance of goal setting. It is a proven fact that goal setters are more inclined to achieve significantly more than others who don’t set goals. Do you set goals on an annual basis? Do you check in periodically to ensure you are still on track to achieve them?  Do you set smaller goals for the day, the week or the month?  If you answered ‘yes’, then I know you are going places!

When you set goals, you can be assured that there will be things that pop up to take you off course, derail your efforts or make you jump through hoops.  You will be challenged as you pursue your goals.  So why does this happen?  Jack Canfield provided more information about this in his book, The Success Principles:

“If you know that these three things are part of the process, then you can treat them as what they are – just things to handle – rather than letting them stop you.”

He is talking about considerations, fears and roadblocks.  Considerations are things you might have to do to achieve a goal, such as run faster, work harder, do more or your relationships may be affected, etc. These considerations are just reasons you might not be able to achieve the goal. They are there for a reason. By acknowledging them, you can better deal with them and determine if this is something that needs to be addressed before actually achieving your goal. Considerations are very helpful when you are strategizing the methods you might explore to achieve your goals.

The second thing is fears. Fears stem from feelings.  Many times they surface when you are reminded of a past incident when you were hurt, either emotionally or physically. Depending on the fear, it can become a show stopper, but it may depend upon how deep the roots run with that issue. However, fears can also be acknowledged and dealt with at the appropriate level.

Roadblocks stem from the external environment.  A roadblock may come from a co-worker whose efforts aren’t supporting the team. A roadblock can come from lack of financial resources or enough time to complete the assignment or goal. Roadblocks come from other people or other external sources rather than internal sources. Roadblocks are there to keep us challenged. Just think, if you never encountered a roadblock it might indicate your goals are too low.

Think about how considerations, fears and roadblocks have popped up in your life.  Were they show stoppers for you? Were they responsible for you losing your focus, thus not achieving your goal?  Have they impacted your effectiveness when it comes to goal setting and achievement?  Everyone deals with these considerations, fears and roadblocks differently. The more you deal with them, the better you get. Keep goal setting, manage your considerations, fears and roadblocks and keep trying.

Jane Emberty is a certified life/career coach and owner of Moving Thru Transition. More than 20 years of human resources management experience she brings recruiting strategies to the table to help job seekers put their best foot forward. She is currently serving as the VP of Professional Development for the ICF-Phoenix Chapter focusing on the New Coaches Collaborative that meets from Sept through May 2010. For more information contact her at www.MovingThruTransition.com