9 Reasons Why You Haven't Accomplished That Goal Yet What's keeping you from making your dreams a reality?
By Ryan Avery Edited by Matt Scanlon
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
So, you have this goal...well, perhaps an idea for a goal or something that sounds really cool. You've been adding it to your "need to achieve" list year after year, but never actually accomplished it. You may not have even told anyone about it because you are afraid that if you do it might just come true, or that you might fail along the way.
No one benefits from being average, from playing it small… from not accomplishing goals. So, this year, it's finally time to go after that big dream and actually accomplish what you set out to do!
If you've engaged in an inner battle as to why this can't be done, I am here to tell you from personal experience that there are essentially nine circumstances getting in the way.
1. You don't know what you want
Quit having a vague notion or cloudy image of something you want: clearly define it. We can't accomplish what we don't see. It'll be even better if that definition embraces the SMART paradigm, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. It's easier to get to a destination if we know where we are going rather than hoping we stumble across it along the way!
2. You haven't written it down
If you are afraid to commit something to paper, how are you going to get your body to do it? And don't just write it down; post it somewhere you will be able to read it every day. I have been guilty of that: writing out goals then putting them in a draw for no one to see, and no way of sharing them either (see reason number 3 below).
Related: Keeping a Daily Journal Can Give You Tremendous Power
3. You haven't shared it
No successful person has ever accomplished anything of value without assistance from others, so don't be afraid to ask for help. And people love to do this: it's in our nature — they simply need to be asked and informed about what it is we want to accomplish.
4. You have not committed to making the goal a priority
Goals have to take a privileged place in your schedule. It's vital to stop saying things like "tomorrow" or "When I get W, I will then do X."
5. You're afraid of failing
Failure sucks; it's embarrassing, hard, and makes us want to pull our hair out at times. But anytime I fail (which seems to be more often than I would like these days), I remind myself that I am creating a better story. The more failures we have, the better stories we have. People love stories, so fail, and fail often.
Related: Don't Wait for Your Luck to Change: Make It Work for You Today
6. You're afraid of succeeding
This has been a factor that stopped me from accomplishing my dreams perhaps more than any other. I like my life and my lifestyle, and pursuing a dream means changing that lifestyle. This can be scary, but we can't let who we are now hold us back from who we can become. It helps to focus on what value we can bring and how many others we can lift up along the way.
7. You think you don't have the right resources
This assumption is simply BS. If you are reading this, that means you have access to the internet, and that is the greatest resource of all time. You have the right tools; the issue might just be not knowing how to use them correctly.
8. You don't know anyone else doing what you want to do
It isn't easy being a trailblazer, to venture down a path that has never been walked upon, to create something now knowing if it will work or if people will accept it. However, burrowing through those feelings is abundantly worth it, because all the things we have were once created by someone starting down a new trail.
Related: Starting Your Own Business Requires a Mix of Courage, Moxie and a Dose of Naïveté
9. You haven't started
My favorite quote, attributed to salesman, author and motivational speaker Hilary "Zig" Ziglar, is, "You do not have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." Too many people procrastinate… don't get anything done because they are afraid to get started. So, start already! We are not supposed to know how to do everything, but are supposed to know what we want to do. Begin, then learn along the way.
