Every year people set goals and every year people fail to achieve the goals they set.  I think this is called insanity – doing the same things the same way and expecting different results.

The fact of the matter is that goal setting has a tremendous impact on your ability to achieve your desired success levels in business and in life.  What is important is to do so in a way that is likely to garner results that are worth the effort.  I know all the studies that show that by just writing your goals down you are more likely to accomplish them.  Poorly written goals are better than none, so anything you do will be positive.

However, the phenomenally successful don’t just leave it up to chance.  Writing their goals down is something they all do – yet the list of things they don’t do makes a world of difference.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll cover one of seven things the phenomenally successful don’t do in order to achieve their goals.  Here is the first one: (Just to give you an idea of where we’re headed, I’m sharing the whole list now.)

1. Don’t include “shoulds”

   When your list of goals is loaded with things you “should” do, it is highly unlikely that you will stay motivated long enough to accomplish them.  In your personal life exercise is an example of a goal that many people set because they think they should do it.  Once you become an adult, it is hard to consistently engage in activities merely because you should.  A great example that is prevalent in business conversations today is the feeling that you should be using social media.

   Many companies start to establish a presence but have no real staying power and therefore yield few results.A better alternative is to dig a little deeper into why you would be compelled to engage in the activity and identify both the benefits you would gain from achieving the goal and the pain you would endure for not achieving it.  Having lots of energy and fitting into your favorite close may be some of the benefits you would gain from exercising.  Having to live on medication and needing to skip some of your favorite activities might be some of the pain you would have to endure.

   With social media, understanding exactly how you would benefit from the engagement will not only keep you more motivated but cause you to focus on more strategic activities that are linked to your success than you might otherwise do.  Instead of trying to gain lots of friends – regardless of whether or not they are in your target market – is less interesting than building your reputation as an expert in your field.  Since experts have an easier time selling than those that have not earned the trust of anyone, this type of activity should lead to increased revenue as well.

   The rest of the list

2. Don’t obsess over the bull’s eye
3. Don’t “try” anything
4. Don’t focus on other people
5. Don’t ignore your past performance
6. Don’t forget who you are
7. Don’t be vague

What are some of the “shoulds” that you have wrestled with in the past?  How might you set goals in those areas differently this year?

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