Unfortunately, only 3% of the population seems to know the importance of setting goals for their own life. Here are the 5 main reasons why 97% of people do NOT set goals.
So many people don’t know where they want to go. Most people walk aimlessly in this life and don’t do anything. Napoleon Hill said:” Without a definite major purpose, you are as helpless as a ship without a compass.”
On the other hand, many people know that they need to set goals to achieve success, to realize their dreams, to take the direction of where they want to go. However, only 3% of the population set proper goals that improve their lives and drive them to success. Why? Why such a small number?
There are 5 main reasons why only 3% of the population know where they want to go and set clear goals to achieve their dreams.
1. People don’t want to take 100% responsibility for their life.
People LOVE to live in their comfort zone. They don’t want to stretch.
Stretching, for the most part, is uncomfortable.
They love to see themselves as a victim for everything that happens to them.
They act like fools.
They think that success, fame or reputation comes by chance and not by effort.
They think that successful people became such because of luck. The luck factor, however, is not what they think. Luck is an effect. Lifelong learning and persistence are the causes.
If you want luck in your life, you have to stretch.
If you want success and wealth, you absolutely need to take 100% responsibility for your own life and the life of your family.
Things such as ‘Getting rich overnight’ or ‘Being successful in a week’ don’t exist. You maybe hear stories like that because they are so rare. Stories like that pollute our thinking because success only comes when you take 100% responsibility for your life and when you set clear goals to achieve your big dreams.
2. People don’t understand the importance of goals
Goals are critical to success. You know that by attending a seminar on goals, reading books on goals or listening to audiotapes.
You know the importance because every day of your life, a role model told you to set goals and explained to you the benefits you would come from setting such objectives.
If you come from a family where goals are not emphasized, it is normal that you don’t understand its importance. But as soon as you begin to taste the joy you feel when you achieve a goal.
You immediately see your future, and you see it beautiful, excellent in every way.
Personally, I didn’t hear anything about goals until I was 21. Like most people at that age, I went to school, studied (just because it was mandatory) and spent the rest of the day with my family and friends.
Then at the age of 21, I decided to do humanitarian service for 2 years. I went to Rome and I began working with the people, helping them deal with their problems and concerns.
There I learned quite a lot about leading a team, managing cultural differences and setting up projects. With the help of other young men from around the world, we built wood houses, created shows and shared our love and knowledge with them.
When I was there, the first thing I learned was the importance of setting goals. Each week, we set goals. Each day, we reviewed our goals. Goals are powerful. They are like a magnet that pulls opportunities and people to achieve them.
Goals changed my entire mission there. They changed my attitude. They made me stretch and enjoy a more fulfilled life.
Goals allow us to focus on what is important to us.
They allow us to manage stress better, not work anxiously but to be at peace, to anticipate and be proactive.
Goals are so important because they are the tools you will use to create the life you want.
Goals are important. If you don’t set any, who you are working for? For those who do!!!
3. People don’t know how to set goals
Setting goals is an art.
A goal is effective when it identifies clearly where you want to be. This kind of goal must give you important information on how to get there and it tells you when you have arrived.
A goal properly set is in harmony with your values, with you as an individual and with your spiritual core.
Finally, you must write down your goal. If all these conditions are gathered, then you can say: “I set a goal”.
Here are 7 conditions you should consider when you set your goal:
Be specific and always state your goal in a positive way.
Second, be sure that the goal is self- maintained, that it only depends on you;
Third, visualize what you will see, hear and feel when you achieve it. Begin with the end in mind. Visualize in rich detail. Involve all your senses, especially your emotions.
Fifth, let your body and mind relax for a moment, they will tell you if it is good for you.
Sixth, state what the price is, in terms of time or money or energy. What are the resources you need to achieve your goal? Relax and if you are ready to pay that price, go to the seventh.
Is the goal in harmony with your beliefs, your values and with your spiritual core? When you answer yes to this question, you feel peace, less resistance and above all you feel motivated since it is in harmony with who you truly are.
If you correctly answer the questions above, take care… because you are surely going into the right direction. You are surely going to achieve it. You are surely creating the life that you desire.
Zig Ziglar said : “A goal properly set is a goal half-way reached”. When you see where you are going, when you are clear about what you want, you are programmed to succeed. The three keys to a life without limits are:
ClarityCompetence
Concentration
Setting goals properly will allow you to clarify your values and your destination.
You attract more in your life because you focus on what you want instead of what you don’t want.
4. The fear of rejection
FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real.
What we perceive in life is always subjective. What we experience is filtered by our beliefs and values system, built mainly during our childhood. As every childhood is different from another, every experience is perceived differently.
An evidence for someone may be an absurdity for another. It depends mainly on his belief system and on his self-concept.
We don’t want to feel low self-esteem. We want to be recognized somehow. That’s quite normal.
Fear of rejection is one of the main reasons why people do not set goals. What if I said that my goal is to be a millionaire?
So here’s the key: don’t tell anybody. Don’t keep them secret, but sacred. They are your goals. That’s the direction you want to go. That’s your life. In fact, 97% of the people will do everything in their power to hold you back.
So don’t tell anybody. Share your dreams and goals with only those who have also dreams and goals.
5. The fear of failure.
The fear of failure is surely the biggest reason of all.The founder of IBM told one of his employee who asked him “How can I double my success rate?”
- “If you want to double you success rate, double you failure rate!”
The difference between the winner and the loser is simple. The winners understand that every setback, every failure is a lesson or an opportunity that lead towards success. They know that they are designed to succeed and they see every problem as an opportunity to improve and be excellent.
The loser will complain when the SAME problem occur. He doesn’t have any vision and therefore any direction in his life.
Failure is a normal part of everyday life. And the most successful people are those who failed forward.
When you set crystal clear goals, you are able to see things differently. You are more able to see problems as normal steps to the achievement of your goal.
When you focus on what you want, you will have both rewards and failures but you will know that both are for your good.
I explained to you the 5 reasons why most people do NOT set goals. My aim is that you set clear goals and understand why you should do it: because you want to live the kind of life YOU want and that you want to realize your dreams. You want to be at peace. You want to save your family from the storms of life. You want to become financially independent and self-reliant.