Have you set goals for your business, personal life, career, 
finances only to find that you keep hitting a wall and you're 
not sure why?  You know the saying "if you fail to plan, you 
plan to fail".  Setting goals is fundamental to being happy 
and successful on your terms.   You've developed your strategy 
- but keep missing the mark.  This article gives five reasons 
why achieving your goals is proving so elusive.
 
1. You didn't really want to achieve the goal
 
Hello?  That's right.  Beneath your intention was really 
something else.  Sometimes we set goals in response to
cultural/societal expectations.  You may want someone else's 
approval ie your partner, parents, colleagues.  "If I
do/achieve this then X will love/like/ appreciate me more"
 
The end result is often self-sabotage, because the goal wasn't 
crafted with your true desires in mind.  So ask yourself who 
or what are you setting this goal for and ensure that it's 
something that you want - not for someone else.
 
2. Your goal clashes with your hidden, negative beliefs
 
You set a goal with the best of intentions - but it clashes 
with unconscious negative beliefs which stop you from following 
through.  For eg you may decide to start networking to increase 
the profile of your business.  But guess what? You hate the 
idea of promoting yourself in this way, because you have 
negative beliefs about what networking involves.
 
Or you may want to get a better grip on your finances and 
attain financial freedom, but you have unconscious beliefs about 
rich people (arrogant, uncaring, selfish etc).  This beliefs 
silently trip you up and then you wonder why you didn't achieve 
the goal. Learn how to identify your hidden negative beliefs 
and reframe them so that they work for you.
 
3. Caught by the Value Vampires!
 
You were had by the Value Vampires.  They are the naysayers, 
the doom and gloom merchants who influenced you and killed your 
idea in its infancy.  They planted seeds of doubt in your mind 
and then you started to water them!  Put up a "no entry" sign 
to Value Vampires or don't tell them your aims and goals too 
early, before they've had time to develop.  You know who these 
people are!
 
4. No real motivation to achieve
 
Setting a goal should turn you on and get the juices going! 
If it's approached as a "should do" "ought to" - you increase 
your chances of not achieving it. Link the goal into a bigger 
picture, wider vista.  Ensure that you begin to feel excited 
about it - imagine the possibilities that it opens up.  You 
can try and set goals in isolation, but they work best when 
they're part of something bigger that you're really enthusiastic 
about.
 
5. Didn't consider obstacles or challenges
 
If you didn't consider the possible obstacles/challenges when 
setting the goal - this makes it a lot easier to fall back and 
give up when you meet difficulties.  This isn't an excuse to 
make excuses to stop you doing it altogether!  Just to take 
a slightly detached view of what could get in the way.  Ask 
yourself what challenges you might face and how you'll deal 
with them - offense is the best form of defense!
 
And............ sometimes you didn't achieve a goal because 
things happened which were outside of your control. Shift 
happens - the best laid plans go awry.  Other things take 
priority and it was right that they should do so.  Maybe you 
weren't ready to achieve that goal or it wasn't right for you.
 
The most positive aspect of not achieving your goals is what 
it teaches you; what you learn about yourself along the way.  
Next time you don't achieve a goal - look at the above reasons, 
see if any relate to you, learn the lesson and move on.