Gorgeous Guest Post by Anna Johnson-Hill
My daily life used to revolve around alcohol and fitting in. I had little respect for myself and funnily enough, my world (friendships, relationships, body image and self-esteem) mirrored that.
One morning in 2012, I woke up hungover and feeling sorry for myself – you know, one of those ‘I’m never drinking again’ moments. I looked at myself in the mirror and didn’t know the person looking back at me.
I didn’t realise it then but every day I was numbing myself with junk food, toxic relationships, a uni course I didn’t like and drunken nights out.
It was easier than living up to the reality of my unfulfilled potential.
I know what it feels like to be lost in the 9-to-5 grind of work and study. I have been there and it made me extremely sick. Life was bland and there was no chance I could get to work on my BIG goals when I was operating from that state. It sucked.
Now I know that life doesn’t have to be that way. I’m the CEO and wellness coach behind AnnaJohnsonHill.com and coach women every day in achieving their life goals through my online presence and programs.
I want you to feel the delight of exponential growth and epic abundance – that begins with setting goals.
From someone that had zero direction and couldn’t create a goal to save her life, here are 10 epic fails involving goal-setting that I want you to avoid:
1: Setting a goal that’s too big
Wouldn’t it be brilliant to become a millionaire in a month?! I think we’ve all had that far-fetched dream but it won’t do much good. I’m not saying don’t think BIG because I want you thinking freaking huge. But focus on the incremental goals to get you there and just keep that big vision in the back of your mind to spur you on. You may be a millionaire one day, but it’ll take a bit more than a month.
Action step: Scale down your goal.
Which brings me to my next point.
2: Forgetting to set a manageable timeframe
I see so many people set unrealistic timeframes (like becoming a millionaire in a month) or on the other hand, not setting a timeframe at all. When we don’t set a timeframe it is easy to keep pushing the work to get there back. The problem with this is we don’t have an infinite amount of time on this planet and to achieve our goals takes consistent action. Setting a timeframe gives us a deadline to get the shit done that needs to get done.
Action step: Set your timeframe.
3: Not understanding the obstacles
Sometimes it can become too hard to carry on. Murphy’s Law is that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong and this applies to goals. You won’t be able to just sail along and achieve your goal. Things will happen, mistakes will be made, obstacles will appear. But if you have an idea of what these obstacles could be ahead of time, then you’ll be in a better position to cruise straight over them and keep going.
Action step: List the obstacles that may appear.
4: Underplaying the importance of writing it down
Writing your goal down and placing it somewhere visible is paramount to your success. How are you supposed to achieve it when you have the goal written in the back of your diary? Give yourself a good chance by reminding yourself constantly.
Action step: Set a reminder in your phone to go off every few days telling you your goal AND write your goal on a post-it and stick it to your fridge.
5: Failing to look after yourself
How do you expect to achieve your goals when you are stressed, overwhelmed, run-down and feel like crap? How much easier would it be to achieve your goals if you were filled up from the inside-out and bursting with energy.
Action step: Take some time out for yourself.
6: Lacking faith that you can achieve it
Be your own biggest cheerleader. To have your own back is so important. Nobody else is going to stand beside you with pom-poms screaming ‘you got this!’. Have faith that you can achieve your goal and encourage yourself along the way.
Action steps: Catch any negative thoughts and turn them into encouraging words.
7: Getting distracted
Regularly check in to make sure you’re on your path and remind yourself why you’ve chosen your goal. We’re constantly distracted by shiny things. For example, you’ll open your email inbox and be given a list of new things to do which can be very distracting.
Action step: Check in with yourself to ensure you’re on-track.
8: Setting goals from a negative place
People often set goals from a negative place. For example, ‘I looked fat in the photos on the weekend so I have to go for a run 5 times a week from now on’, or ‘I want to get a new job because I hate the one I have now’. Okay, now let’s try setting goals from a positive place – from a place that inspires you. A better example would be ‘I want to run 5 times per week because I love the way it makes me feel’.
Action step: Re-frame your goals so they’re coming from a positive place.
9: Spreading yourself thin
Working a little on many goals at once can be exhausting and you’ll end the day without ticking anything off your goals list. It can be a real bummer getting to the end of the day and realising that you can’t tick a single thing off your to-do list because you have worked a little on many different tasks.
Action step: Focus on one task at a time and dedicate all of your attention to completing it.
10: Gaining support when you need it
We don’t have to always go-it-alone. Having support structures in place is vital for when shit hits the fan. There is a whole community of people helping people achieve their goals at http://AnnaJohnsonHill.com/get-shit-done. We’d love to have you join us.
Action step: Check out the community at AnnaJohnsonHill.com and join us if it feels right.
About our Gorgeous Guest
Anna Johnson-Hill is an authority on goal achievement. She is the CEO and wellness coach behind AnnaJohnsonHill.com – a space where women are nurtured into action to live the dream of becoming their best ever. Anna is best known for her ‘Get Shit Done’ eCourse which has been described as the busy young human’s step-by-step guide to bounce-off-the-walls energy and accelerated success. Grab her free meditation to get shit done and have an effortlessly flowing day!
I hope you learned as much as I have from Anna’s goal-setting tips! I am so inspired to revisit my goals and make sure they are structured to maximise their success.
I would love for you to share your own experiences with goal-setting in the comments below so we can cheer you on!
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