“When obstacles arise, you change your direction. To reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there.” ~Zig Ziglar

Napoleon Hill, the famous success writer of “Think and Grow Rich,” said, “A goal is a dream with a deadline.” Are you great at dreaming but not so good at attaining your goals? If so, something is holding you back. Here are four of the most common reasons why people fail to reach their goals:

1. You’re Letting the Reason Get Away from You

More often than not, it takes a long time to reach your goals. During that time, it’s easy to stray from the real reason why you ever wanted to achieve it in the first place. In fact, you may very well forget it entirely.

How do you keep from doing this? A great way is to write this reason down. Ask yourself why you want to make this change and answer it as honestly as possible. Take that piece of paper and keep it with you constantly.

You may also find your motivation to reach the goal waning, especially when you encounter challenges along the way. Keeping a written statement of why you want to achieve your goal keeps that initial excitement with you to push you forward.

2. You Have Too Much on Your Plate

The expression “Jack of all trades, master of none” applies to goal planning as well as many other things in life. If you try to take on too many things at once, you’ll be spending your energy all over the place. You won’t have the focus that you need to reach even one, and you’ll most likely burn out quickly.

But what can you do if you’re an ambitious person with lots on your plate? The solution is to make a huge list of goals and just pick one. Work on one until you get comfortable with it and start seeing results. Then, you can add the next goal to your already busy schedule.

3. You’re Choking on Negativity

Often, we fall short of what we want because we focus too much on negatives. You think about what you don’t want or where you don’t want to be, instead of visualizing yourself in a good place in the future.

For example, if your goal is to get a better job, stop thinking about the lousy one you have now. Sure, it may be a good motivator to get you job hunting; but the negative thinking it’s causing you can stand in your way. Instead, focus on the wonderful new job you’re going to get.

4. You’re Making Friends with Your Fear

Many of us fail to make progress on our goals because of fear, which is perfectly natural. If you’ve got a big goal you’re working toward, there’s a good chance it’s something you’ve never done before, and that can be terrifying.

When you’re afraid, it’s usually because you doubt your abilities. But with proper planning, this isn’t an issue at all. If you break your goals down into sub-goals and daily actions that will get you closer to them, it just becomes a matter of logistics. A good plan with concrete steps helps you overcome fear.

Take Action Today!

Ultimately, the main reason we fail at goals is that we fail to take action. This could be because of the fear mentioned above or for other reasons, but it’s essential to do something each day that gets you closer to your goals. This helps you understand your own abilities and skills better, and it gives you more confidence when you see yourself getting closer to getting what you want.

Do you hold yourself back from achieving your goals? Or, better yet–what have you done to move yourself forward when you found yourself not achieving your goal? I would love to hear and share your story. Share your comments with me below!

Your partner in moving forward,

James