Is the Way You Make Goals Setting You up for Failure?

Goals and goal setting – is there a topic more beat to death?  I know I’ve done a post or few, and still see them popping up daily.  I’ll spare you another go round, but I have something very important to point out.

You’ve probably run across a bunch of articles, books, and advice along the lines of:

• Make a gigantic to-do list and categorize by ABC/123
• Get a folder for each day and keep at it
• Make sure your goals are SMART
• Take your SMART goals further and make them RED-E
• Forget goals; don’t make goals – just live life
• What’s a goal?

I think I missed a few hundred or so.  The point – there are many different tools to tackling goals.  None are wrong by themselves.

You wouldn’t take a hammer to a screw, right?  How about a butter knife to a steak?  How about a pencil to sign your Will?  You have to pick the right tool for the right job.

Think of each goal setting method as a different tool.  The “forget goals – just live” approach is probably best for your vacations and fun stuff.  A single, prioritized to-do list is great for home chores and duties.  The SMART & RED-E approach is a laser for the extra difficult goals.

Using the SMART & RED-E method on a daily chore would drive you bonkers.  It would also be equally silly to throw your life passion journey to the “oh, who knows” way.

See all of the goal methods as valid, but situational.  Pick your tool for the right job.  It’ll take some trial and error on your part, but it’s a heck of a lot better than dropping goals because you used the wrong tool.

Oh an consider that your self motivation may have been off. Unless you know you strengths, motivators, and personality, you’re not going in with the full picture. Take some free tests and see what you come up with.