Reasons People fail: Learn from them
Esther Maina
Why do some people achieve their goals while others
fail? I believe it's because successful people manage to overcome five
barriers that, in many cases, guarantee failure. Here are those barriers
and how to overcome them:
1. Uninspiring Goals
When
most people set goals, they envision a "thing," such as a particular
amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement
(like writing a book). Unfortunately, these "things I'm gonna get or do"
goals don't appeal to the core of what motivates you, because they miss
the point that what you're actually seeking in life and work is the
POSITIVE EMOTIONS that you believe those things will produce.
Fix:
Rather than envisioning a "thing" as your goal, envision--with all the
strength in your imagination--how you will feel when you achieve the
goal. That way, you'll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal
and ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.
2. Fear of Failure
If
you're afraid of failing, you won't take the necessary risks required
to achieve your goal. For example, you won't make that important phone
call, because you're afraid that you'll be rebuffed. Or you won't quit
your dead-end job and start your own business because you're afraid that
you might end up without any money.
Fix: Decide--right
now!--that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary condition. If
things don't go the way you'd like, it's only a setback that, at most,
delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that
you'll sometimes fail, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet
vital) component in your quest.
3. Fear of Success
In
many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of
failure. Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous
wealth. What if it didn't make you happy? What then? What if you ended
up losing all of it? What then? Would your friends start acting weird?
Would your family be envious? Such thoughts (and they're common) can
cause even a highly motivated person to self-sabotage.
Fix:
Decide that you're going to be happy and grateful today and happy and
grateful in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on
possible problems, envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help
your friends and family achieve THEIR goals. (Hint: Watch the last
season of the TV series Entourage!)
4. An Unrealistic Timetable
Most
people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly
underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people
try to cram too many action items into the short term rather than
spacing out activities over the long term. The inability to get all the
short-term steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression
that the final goal is slipping away.
Fix: As you list the
activities and steps required to achieve a goal, schedule only the 20%
of the activities that will produce 80% of your results. (I explain more
about this in the post The Secret of Time Management.) Beyond that, set
ambitious long-term timetables, but always leave some "wiggle room"
when you plan short term.
5. Worrying About "Dry Spots"
It's
easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do
seems to advance you toward your goal. For example, suppose you're
trying to master a certain skill. You make swift progress at first but
then, after a while, it seems as if you're not doing any better, or
maybe a little worse. Some people use these "plateaus" or "dry spots" as
an excuse to give up and therefore fail.
Fix: Whenever you reach a plateau or dry spot, it's time to celebrate rather than give up. A plateau is almost always a sign that you're on the brink of a major breakthrough, if you just have the patience to stick with it and trust that you'll eventually achieve your goal.
--
Esther W. Maina
Tel: +254720853131
"Faith is taking the first step even if you can't see the whole staircase."
Martin Luther King Jnr.
lauryntai
Esther Maina <emai...@gmail.com> wrote:
>5 Reasons People Fail (& What to Do Instead)
>
> - -A<http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/5-reasons-people-fail----what-to-do-instead--10231289.html#decrease>
> - +A<http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/5-reasons-people-fail----what-to-do-instead--10231289.html#increase>
>
>[image: Inc] <http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/partner/inc/>By Geoffrey
>James | Inc – Tue, Oct 23, 2012 6:22 PM EDT
>
>Why do some people achieve their goals while others fail? I believe it's
>because successful people manage to overcome five barriers that, in many
>cases, guarantee failure. Here are those barriers and how to overcome them:
>
>*1. Uninspiring Goals*
>
>When most people set goals, they envision a "thing," such as a particular
>amount of money, an object (like a new car), or a specific achievement
>(like writing a book). Unfortunately, these "things I'm gonna get or do"
>goals don't appeal to the core of what motivates you, because they miss the
>point that what you're actually seeking in life and work is the POSITIVE
>EMOTIONS that you believe those things will produce.
>
>Fix: Rather than envisioning a "thing" as your goal, envision--with all the
>strength in your imagination--how you will feel when you achieve the goal.
>That way, you'll be inspired to do whatever it takes (within legal and
>ethical bounds) to achieve that goal.
>
>*2. Fear of Failure*
>
>If you're afraid of failing, you won't take the necessary risks required to
>achieve your goal. For example, you won't make that important phone call,
>because you're afraid that you'll be rebuffed. Or you won't quit your
>dead-end job and start your own business because you're afraid that you
>might end up without any money.
>
>Fix: Decide--right now!--that failure, for you, is a strictly temporary
>condition. If things don't go the way you'd like, it's only a setback that,
>at most, delays your eventual success. In other words, accept the fact that
>you'll sometimes fail, but treat that failure as an unavoidable (yet vital)
>component in your quest.
>
>*3. Fear of Success*
>
>In many ways, this fear is even more debilitating than the fear of failure.
>Suppose you achieved something spectacular, like enormous wealth. What if
>it didn't make you happy? What then? What if you ended up losing all of it?
>What then? Would your friends start acting weird? Would your family be
>envious? Such thoughts (and they're common) can cause even a highly
>motivated person to self-sabotage.
>
>Fix: Decide that you're going to be happy and grateful today and happy and
>grateful in the future, no matter what happens. Rather than focus on
>possible problems, envision how wonderful it would be to be able to help
>your friends and family achieve THEIR goals. (Hint: Watch the last season
>of the TV series Entourage!)
>
>*4. An Unrealistic Timetable*
>
>Most people vastly overestimate what they can do in a week and vastly
>underestimate what they can do in a year. Because of this, most people try
>to cram too many action items into the short term rather than spacing out
>activities over the long term. The inability to get all the short-term
>steps accomplished creates discouragement and the impression that the final
>goal is slipping away.
>
>Fix: As you list the activities and steps required to achieve a goal,
>schedule only the 20% of the activities that will produce 80% of your
>results. (I explain more about this in the post The Secret of Time
>Management.) Beyond that, set ambitious long-term timetables, but always
>leave some "wiggle room" when you plan short term.
>
>*5. Worrying About "Dry Spots"*