This is Why 97% of People Will Miss Their 2022 Goals

95% of people are setting goals around health and fitness, so this is truly the most wonderful time of the year if you’re in that industry. BUT, there’s a reason 97% of those people miss those goals after setting them.

First: A very important book that made a huge impact on me was called Change Anything. It breaks down the 6 sources of influence that are active in people when it comes to accomplishing goals, because there is no such thing as willpower! (It’s a fabrication of our minds!) But today’s episode is all about getting the goal-setting process in place FIRST.

Steps of the Goal-Setting Process:

Define Success in Each Area of your life.

We often set goals and they don’t end up making us happy. I hit my goal of hitting 7 figures last year, giving my husband the opportunity to stay home with our daughter. Ever since that point, I’ve been a bit lost! It held value, but often I think our goals are linked to inner child issues we have and we feel a certain goal is going to change us. It helps to use the “Wheel of Life,” which refers to different areas of our lives such as Health, Family, Relationships, Friends, and Environment. (DM me on Insta @theashleyshaw and I’ll send you a cheatsheet I have for thinking of those areas!)
You’ll want to define what success looks like in each area. Example: maybe a 10/10 for your Environment would be waking up on the beach every day, because that’s where you feel most alive. Where are you NOW? If it’s nowhere close, your rating might currently be a 2/10.
When you do this for each area of your life, you’ll find what goals will be emotionally satisfying. If you’re evaluating your progress year after year by trying to heal traumas with hitting high-level goals… you’ll end up unhappy and forever clawing at “if I can just get back to…_____.”

Look at the Largest Deficits.

Changing the biggest deficits will have the greatest impact. Often we make the mistake of setting TONS of goals, and try to do them in 90 day sprints so we fall off track. Attacking everything at the beginning of the year isn’t sustainable, so we have to break it down into what will make the biggest difference and start there.

Pick 1-2 Goals that will Make the Biggest Difference.

For me, it was spiritual. Something shifted and I went from having a deep confidence and belief it’s already happened, to being in flight or fight mode more often and we can’t be creative in that mode!

Define What You Think Could Actually Get You Closer to Your Goal.

You can do a brain-dump into your favorite task or project management software, but many people recommend using post-its! Write out all the steps. Personally, mine look like “Meditate every day.” “Carve out at least 20 minutes for a workout.” “Don’t start my day by jumping into work.” “Block out an hour to get out of my head, connect with my purpose, what I’m here to do. Journal.”

Organize Those Items into the Correct Order.

Don’t try to do everything right away. We need to be intentional about adding small things at a time when it comes to building habits, just like coaching someone into building better health and fitness habits! Don’t crush your own spirits. Get everything out in a specific order.

Automate this into Habits.

The ideal Week by Michael Hyatt has some steps around startup and shutdown sequences, and he says if you can automate something, it’s super easy to get it done. We never automate our habits and it makes it hard to do. You rarely forget to brush your teeth because there’s a sequence of habits that happen before you go to bed. They’re automated and you don’t have to think about them. Our minds are not for remembering things- they’re for processing and thinking about other things. The more you can remove thought and make something involuntary, the better.

An example of a startup sequence might be around work, or something for your morning. For me, in my morning startup sequence I want to be able to meditate, practice gratitude, and get my workout in. The first step I’m going to take is make sure I have the order in which I wanna execute on those things. What’s the time frame it’ll take to accomplish those? Whatever it is - 10 or 15 minutes - document that interval and know how long your whole sequence will take. If I don’t do it before my daughter wakes up, it ain’t happening. So I know when I have to set my silent alarms so I don’t wake her up, etc. What do I need to do differently to adjust my habits that will allow me to handle those goals?
If you want better engagement or more followers on social media, or to post more consistently, there are certain habits you’re going to want to build into your day. Then you’ll have a shutdown sequence for work and personal life to make sure you’re building and automating all those habits.

The other thing I like to do around goals and habits is self-identify. If you’re someone who wants to work out, then “you work out every day.” You’re not someone who “tries” to workout every day. Maybe it’s a 10 minute stretch, but having that identity attached to that goal is very impactful and important in whether we decide to do something or not. You tell yourself that you just “do it every day.”

After you do this first 90 day segment, you’re going to want to set your calendar to do this whole thing again in 90 days. Look over your biggest deficits, decide which areas will make the biggest difference… and set another target.

Put it in your project management calendar.

Decide: “What am I adding this week?” Then next week? Slowly roll it out. It’s not a sprint- it truly is a marathon if you want this stuff to stick!

Key Takeaways From This Episode:

You need to set goals based on habits. Otherwise you’ll always struggle getting clients, keeping them, and achieving your own goals.
Our minds are not for remembering things- they’re for processing and thinking about other things. The more you can remove thought and make an important habit involuntary, the better.