The Trickery of Goal Setting (Blog Post)

Clearly, I am a coach. Goal setting is wired into my DNA, and it’s a must to establish vision for who you desire to be. Whether a weight loss goal, financial goal, leadership goal, productivity goal, it doesn’t matter the subject, goals are steppingstones toward an ultimate vision of our desired selves.

But there is a problem with goal setting that most people experience, and it’s keeping you from you ultimately leaping off that notepad that you wrote it down on, and making it a reality.

We’ll call it the New Year’s Resolution Paradox.

You know what I’m talking about. December rolls around and we all get fat and happy with the Holiday treats, time off, and memorable moments that are created during this wonderous time of year. And then December 26 rolls around and we are hit with the reality that life is about to pick back up again, and we better start making plans to get out of celebratory slothfulness.

See, whether we are aware of it or not, we are rhythmic people. It’s created within us to work and rest, and if we don’t do it intentionally, life, or our own bodies, will do it for us. It’s good we come to the end of the year and take a break. As Christians, our weary world rejoices every year we come to celebrate the birth of Jesus, our savior. Oh, how we’ve longed for that saving grace, and need to be reminded of it often. The issue is how we go about “starting over”. Because that’s how we see it right? We are starting anew. A new shot at finally losing the weight. A fresh beginning to finally create that budget and live below our means. But just because the calendar rolls over and we come upon the next numeral post Christ’s birth, that doesn’t mean we start from ground zero. We should always be progressing, if anything, in maturity. Sure, it isn’t linear, but the trajectory should be climbing every year.

With all of that aside, the main point here is that people get fired up to set a new goal. Karen write down in big, bold, purple marker, “LOSE 50 POUNDS!” circles it, and puts it on her fridge by way of her adorable “time for cat nap” magnet. She signs up for weight watchers (they have a new system, ya know? It will actually work WITH her this time, not against her). She buys new LuLu leggins, a size smaller, to motivate her even more, of course. Gym membership? Check!

All of that is so exciting. But unfortunately, we can predict the next chapter of the story. It’s groundhog day come December 26th the following year. Last January her youngest broke his arm, and then the water heater stopped working and they needed a new one, and she got the flu in February, and the LuLu’s got buried under her sweatpants and oversized t-shirts. It just wasn’t in the cards for Karen.

But the jolt and energy of that goal! Whew! What a rush, right?

Setting a goal can, unfortunately, be enough to fill our emotional tank and make our brains think we actually are doing something worthwhile. And don’t get me wrong, setting goals are indeed worthwhile, but only if you act on them.

“Okay, Ryan, so how do I actually go for the goal instead of just enjoying the feeling of setting it?”

Great question, imaginary person. You’ve got have a framework for achieving your goals.

I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART goals, yeah?

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

I would add anther “A” to the end and tack on Accountability.

Now, we get SMARTA (sounds almost like Sparta which can fire me up, and also like Smarter, so boom, two birds).

Your goals have to be specific. You must be as detailed as possible in outlining your desired goal. And the rest of the acronym help with that, of course.

You have to be able to measure it, as well.

What variables can you measure within the goal? Going for weight loss, easy, but also track inches and take pictures, don’t just go off the scale. There’s a lot more happening in fat loss than just losing pounds.

Your goals have to be achievable. Don’t say you’re going to lose 100 pounds in 3 months. Sounds exciting, but it’s incredibly unhealthy and most likely impossible.

Relevant, what does that mean?

Your goal should align with your values, long-term objectives, or what matters most to you.

Here’s an example: “I want to improve my fitness because staying healthy will help me be more active with my kids.”

Boom, perfect. It’s relevant to the rest of your life and fits into the overall narrative of your story.

When your goals don’t stand alone without tethers to the rest of your life, they most likely won’t get achieved.

Next, we have time bound. If you don’t set a timeframe for your goal, you won’t feel any pressure to act on it. Walk back the process of achieving the goal and create timeframes for achieving each steppingstone toward it.

Finally, accountability. Maybe the most important item within the acronym SMARTA, accountability is vitally important to achieving your goals. Not just because people pay me to achieve theirs, but because telling someone else about your goal and having them hold you accountable to it is the end-all-be-all to achieving what you desire to achieve.

Humans are weird. Kept to ourselves, we will do very little. But when others hear about what we set out to do, and then we have them place upon us an expectation to complete the task, this is called the Hawthorn Effect. The external accountability drives us toward completing that goal, or be as seen as a failure, which we know isn’t true, but our minds don’t like to perceive that.

I can almost guarantee (without putting anything in writing…wait…this is writing) that you will achieve every goal you set out to accomplish if you follow this framework.

Just remember, and most importantly, you have to do the work.

Now, go out there, my dude, and get after it!

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