Many individuals who have tried to set goals for themselves and "failed" will refer to the notorious "first 45 days"—that is, the crucial six weeks after the New Year is set which makes or breaks most go-getters. The New Year is always a time of change, and usually the most active day for "new resolutions." Starting a new goal (or set of goals) is so easy at first and your resolve is strong at the outset. However, by day five of your new life plan you start to feel the adversity. This article goes into more detail on how to set smarter goals that are easier to accomplish.
For now, let's review what usually goes wrong with set goals. Why do people fail? More importantly, why do people insist upon using the term "fail?" For starters, there is no such thing as failure when it comes to improving your life. Failure is defined as "a lack of success" and as the "loss of ability to function normally." These are terms that are more commonly associated with projects, historical figures and body part function.
It's difficult to discuss "failure" in terms of human achievement. When a person fails at something he or she is usually only failing in one particular task. Another definition of the term failure is "an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose."
Therefore, it's far healthier to look at each "failure" as a setback rather than a conclusive defeat. In order to win a war, a nation must win many individual battles. The same can be said of a person like you, who is seeking to accomplish many little achievements in order to complete one stated goal. Win every last battle and work your way towards a decisive victory.
You can't fail at a particular step. Since failure involves the inability to complete an event. You simply do not achieve the step. What happens when you're stuck on a large staircase of stairs in a museum? Do you go flying off the rails or jumping over the walls? No, you have to keep going. You press on, take your time, and walk each individual step until you finally finish climbing the staircase.
The same can be said of goal setting. Rather than viewing each setback as a failure, view it as a temporary halt. Be careful not to let this halt stop you from continuing your goals as directed. This is the most damaging mistake a person can make. Instead of viewing incompletion as a setback, the person views it as a failure of the entire mission. He or she then writes off the entire goal list as a waste of time just because one particular step wasn't completed right away.
This is the wrong way to view the situation. The next time you become discouraged because of a minor setback then just remember the analogy of being stuck on a staircase or an escalator has halted. Take one step at a time.
