Setting new goals is easy, but finishing them is hard. In this blockbuster bestseller, the author shares his plans to help you actually achieve your goals.
Perfectionism has no sense of gray, things are only black or white. You do it perfectly or you don’t do it at all.
The Day After Perfect
When you work towards a goal, perfectionism will do its best to bring you down.
Excuses are perfectionism’s cover. You gave up because you were not flawless. It’s not just you.
Everyone aspires to receive perfect grades. Everyone strives for As and Bs. However, getting all As is difficult and daunting. Because of this, many people choose not to even try.
Measure your goals and progress
Information helps you measure any number of things related to your goals: time, products sold, pounds lost, miles run, how much money you saved, and the like. Pick one to three aspects of your life to measure. You may be tempted to measure more, but start small.
When you’re successful, you can add more factors to measure. If you’re not happy with your progress, adjust your goal, timeline, or actions.
Let go of trying to be perfect in everything
Your most valuable resource is time. Put all of that work into achieving your goals. Setting priorities for your time management entails doing just that. You have to sacrifice some of your time for one aim in order to achieve another. No matter what you do, you can’t have it all.
You spend your life aiming too high if you’re like most people. You don’t need to lower your standards; just be honest with yourself about the limitations of your time and your abilities.
You have only two options right now.
1. Attempt more than is humanly possible and fail.
2. Choose what to bomb and succeed at a goal that matters.
Reward and Fear
Be careful how you package your fun. People respond, in general, to two types of motivation: reward and fear.
Some people live for the reward. When they know what they want, their instinct drives them to achieve it.
Fear also motivates people: They fear the consequences of not acting.
Perfectionism kills
Although starting is difficult, ending is simpler. You can have a lot of incomplete tasks and other incomplete tasks. The majority of those who set New Year’s resolutions fail, according to studies, 92% of the time.
People were more productive when they didn’t strive for perfection. Perfectionism stifles progress and prevents people from reaching their objectives.
Day 2: The Reality
Start today, and keep going until you reach your goals. Continue on even if you make mistakes. The most important step isn’t starting on Day 1 to work toward your objective. Day 2, the following great day, would be that. Aim for a 50% completion rate if you wish to succeed. Cut your target in half, in other words. This will be effective for objectives like morning running or weight loss.
It’s challenging to cut some objectives in half. Don’t split them in half for those; allow yourself additional time.
Workplace Goals
Research says that setting realistic goals leads to much better performance than setting overly aggressive targets, but what happens in the workplace where you don’t control the timeline? You may want to talk with your boss about the utility of setting achievable goals.
Make sure your workplace goals are the right size from the beginning.
Your Hiding Places
Sometimes your hiding places—where you go to avoid work – are easy to find, such as watching your favorite show on Netflix when it’s time to clean the house. Some hiding places are sneaky; you think you’re being productive by emptying your inbox, but you’re actually avoiding writing your blog.
Your Noble Obstacles
Noble obstacles are chores you must finish before you can attack your real goals.
Noble obstacles often rely on the word “until”—as in, “I can’t do my taxes until I know what kind of business I’m really trying to build.”
Using “until” as an excuse seems respectable, but in reality, it’s just another form of perfectionism.
Have Fun and Get It Done
Many people fail to achieve their goals because they think they are difficult. One huge lie that perfectionism tells you is that goals don’t count if they’re fun.
Scientists and others who study goal setting look at various factors, including satisfaction and performance success, measurements that capture “how you felt about the process” and “what you actually got done.”
A New Way To Procrastinate
An alternative to saying “until” is saying “if… then.” It sets up a different form of procrastination.
You procrastinate or don’t start working because you’ve set an imaginary clock or pre-goal for yourself, and while waiting for that to happen, you come to feel as if it’s too late to start toward your goal. It’s never too late to try. You always have time to begin.
This goes against every sappy motivational statement…but if you dream too big at the start, you curse your finish.
The Two Tactics
Cutting the goal in half or doubling the timeline – into many goals. Slicing your goals in half or extending your timeline may feel like “cheating,” but either step will make you much more likely to reach your targets. Starting small may feel unnatural at first, but you will achieve big results.
