Galvin and Associates

Secret Weapon to Help You Attain Your Goals

2.01.2015

Blog

You are probably familiar with the statistic that only 8% of people successfully attain the goals they set at the beginning of the year. That means that 92% of us get sidetracked, lose focus, give up, or otherwise fail.

Though I have been successful at meeting many of my goals, it would have been so much easier if I had learned about this secret weapon when I was younger: Involve other people.

We are all a part of a larger social system. This invisible system of roles and relationships impacts our ability to make significant changes in life and attain our goals. Here is how you can reshape the system you are living in by involving other people.

1. Announce your goal to others
When you share your goal privately with others or publicly announce it, your level of commitment is automatically increased. Some of us don’t do this because it feels much safer to keep your goal to yourself if only to avoid embarrassment later.

2. Ask for assistance
You can ask others to encourage you verbally and pray for you. You can ask them to give you feedback when your behavior does not match the goals you are trying to achieve. Surprisingly, when you ask friends and co-workers to assist you, they will most likely agree.

3. Find someone to teach you
Sometimes significant change requires that you learn a new skill. Who do you know who could teach you? Who is highly knowledgeable who could share useful information with you? Who can provide you with informal coaching or mentoring?

4. Redefine normal
Call out the bad behaviors that used to be normal for you and get clear in your own mind what your new normal is going to look like. Then respectfully inform those around you who will have to get used to your new patterns of behavior.

5. Identify enablers
Some people make it easy for you to give up on your goal, or even ridicule you for wanting to change. With these individuals, you have to have a conversation explaining your goal and why it is important to you, and asking them to avoid specific behaviors that hinder your progress.

6. Orchestrate positive peer pressure
Next, do the opposite of dealing with enablers. Put yourself in places and with people where you will have lots of positive peer pressure. Identify role models you can watch and be inspired by. Find new friends who can help you.

Here is a fun and informative video from the Change Anything Labs describing why it is difficult to attain our goals and what we can do to be more successful. This 7:00 minute video is titled “Blind and Outnumbered.” Pay particular attention to the social layer, numbered 3 and 4 in their model.

Who do you need to talk to next about a goal you have set?

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