There is no denying in the fact that setting goals is important. By defining and setting up goals, both in personal and professional grounds, we get purpose, direction and guidance. Then why so many of us fail to realise what we want to achieve? Why are goals so important for personal achievement? What is stopping us to transform our goals into reality?

There are many factors that could explain why the majority of population fail in setting and achieving goals. I suppose it is fair to say that this is directly linked to the wealth levels of any population in general.  If wealth is among your achievements, then setting up goals towards achieving wealth and financial freedom should be the starting point. Then why it is not always happening?

Ignorance. It sounds harsh, but being ignorant is one of the major stop signs in achieving your goals. Not understanding the point of having goals in life, not understanding the  importance of setting goals and not wanting to understand (as in ‘let’s not think about it’) are all aspects of this ignorance.

No ambition. This is probably the worst place anybody can be, besides ignorance. Not wanting more for yourself and for others, not wanting to find a purpose in your life or thinking that one does not deserve success,wealth, happiness – no matter the circumstances – is a dead end in itself. Goal setting is only acknowledge and powerful when one does realise that they can – and will – do more with their lives. The ability to desire, dream, imagine is everyone’s right.

Fear of failure…or success. When you do understand that goal setting is there for a very good reason, the most common setback is the fear of failure. “What if it will not work? What if I am not capable of doing this? and so on. On the contrary, the exact fear of success or achievement is detracting some from their path. What if I am not worth of it? What if I cannot continue? What if it won’t last? There is also the likelihood of people seeing their end goals as an evil or not worthy (as in “wealth is bad”). Continous education and open-mindness on issue like money, wealth and so on will change the way you look at your goals – which are themselves derived from your desires (think about the unconscious mind). So don’t deny what you want.

Fear of criticism. If you have set up your thoughts, actions and goals around other’s system or way of thinking, chances are that any changes in your goal setting will be affected by a fear of criticism from your family, friends and whoever you see it as a “standard” way of doing things. That is why most people will choose to not confront, change or innovate and go with the flow. A fear of other’s criticism, fear of losing their support is triggered by low self esteem and low confidence in one’s abilities to succeed. To succeed following their own goals, that is.

Not knowing how to set goals. Some people know what they want to achieve, have a clear, focused pictured in their minds, but they lack the know-how. Alternatively, the failures people experienced in the past, when they do have set goals, leads to disappointment and lack of confidence in their ability to set up goals. So they assume that failure is a given. Given that they can learn from their mistakes, there are ways of setting up goals in an efficient, fail-safe manner.

In our upcoming April edition, WealthWise magazine will show you how to set up goals and what do you need to make sure your goal setting has a strong foundation.

Until next time,

Denisa