WHAT ARE GOAL OBSTACLES?
Four big goal obstacles
(and how to overcome them)
Goals are supposed to help keep us focused, right? But simply setting a goal does not mean that it will be achieved within what one would consider to be a reasonable amount of time. Actually, there is nothing that guarantees that a goal will ever be achieved at all.
The truth is that goal setting, the very thing that keeps entrepreneurs and leaders focused and driven, can, in fact, do the very opposite. What keeps those goals out of reach?
Perfectionism
One of the most common obstacles that people experience when trying to achieve a goal is the need for everything to be perfect before the goal is actually pursued. This is often tied to a lack of self-confidence or, in leadership and in business, the feeling that the person behind the goal is inadequate (this notion is referred to as Imposter Syndrome).
The thing is, those who set goals do not need to wait until everything is perfect before going ahead with their plans. If a goal is put off, then it will almost certainly never get done. It is the process that counts.
When you create something out of nothing and call it complete before deeming it 100 percent perfect, you take a big leap. But once you take that leap, you are still able to modify and improve what you have created.
Here are two stories to illustrate this point:
Story A
An entrepreneur has started an online business that will deliver great course content online. They want to launch their first-ever course: Blogging for Small Business. However, they are hesitant to publish their course and offer it for sale because they are not 100 percent satisfied with the structure and content of the course. What's more, they feel like they should not be the one to facilitate the course; even though they have years of experience, they still feel inadequate.
They spend the rest of their days tweaking the course and never put it up for sale.
The end.
Story B
An entrepreneur has started an online business that will deliver great course content online. They want to launch their first-ever course: Blogging for Small Business. However, they are hesitant to publish their course because they are not 100 percent satisfied with the structure and content.
They publish it anyway, but they openly admit to their customers that this is the very first version of the course. To make up for this, they sell the first version at a discounted rate and provide those customers with lifetime access to future upgrades. In turn, they ask that the customers provide feedback on the course so that it can be improved.
The entrepreneur ends up selling their course to a handful of people, and ends up getting valuable feedback from the participants and learns a lot along the way. They take all of that feedback into consideration and are able to improve the course to such a degree that it soon becomes a constant source of passive income.
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Which story did you like better?
As you can see, oftentimes committing and taking the leap is an essential step in growth.
Fear of failure
Let's get real. Fear of failure is a completely normal human reaction to the unknown. Even if you can overcome this obstacle, there is a very good chance that it will return whenever you start to doubt your own abilities or the viability of your product or service. As mentioned earlier, this is commonly referred to as Imposter Syndrome.
Entrepreneurs may be more fearful of failure due to the sheer amount of time, money, and emotion that they invest in their business. Of the three, the financial investment is often the most worrisome – if the business doesn't succeed within a certain timeframe, the entrepreneur may be forced to close their business and that money will be lost forever, along with the potential income that they would have made if their business was a success.
But a failed business doesn't just deal a large blow to the bank account - one's self-confidence can take a pretty big hit as well.
You have to have faith in your business. This doesn't mean that you should walk around and only allow yourself to see butterflies and rainbows while ignoring what needs to be improved. Instead, you should have faith in the idea that you sell, the goal that you are trying to reach, and the outcome that you are trying to achieve. You have to have faith in the product or service and its potential.
Further reading:
One of the things that makes the fear of failure worse for entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders alike is that they are usually so busy trying to get their business off of the ground that the resulting heavy workload causes them to isolate themselves from their friends and family.
Having a support system in place, especially those tailored specifically for entrepreneurs and small business owners, offers accountability partners and a much-needed confidence boost by being a part of a community who share similar struggles.
Oftentimes, committing and taking the leap is an esential step in growth.
Taking big steps
Just because you have big dreams for your business does not mean that you should take big steps towards them. Taking bigger steps means that you risk overlooking smaller (and possibly crucial) components. It's kind of like "measure twice, cut once", but for building dreams, not houses. The smaller steps that lead up to the big goals are just as important – if not more important – than the big steps.
It is therefore highly recommended that you create a series of smaller steps that will collectively help you take a big step. Creating smaller steps requires you to focus in on specific, smaller-scale issues and challenges, resulting in a business (or lifestyle) that has been built on many smaller achievements, all of them done well.
Distractions
Shiny Object Syndrome is a real problem, folks. You see something you like, and immediately want to pursue it or model your business after it. Here's a little advice: don't fall down the rabbit hole. Focus on your company: its unique brand identity, its products and services as they currently are (acknowledging room for improvements and planning to capitalize on opportunities to grow), and your ideal customers.
You can look into how other companies achieve their own goals, but don't try to model your entire business after another company. This takes away from its unique identity and authenticity, and hinders your own ability to achieve your goals. The same rings true for personal development.
Don't get caught up in what so-and-so is doing on Instagram (even if it seems to be working really well) if it doesn't fit your business or if it will throw you onto a wildly different path than the one you have planned.
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