Written by: Sallie Wagner, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Do you have goals for your life?
If you do, you’re in the minority.
Statistics show that anywhere from 67%, to 80%, to a whopping 97% of people don't have goals for their lives. And of those who do, only about 8% actually achieve those goals.
Yet, we’re constantly told that we should have goals – SMART goals, and even SMARTER goals!
So what happens when we do decide to join that tiny percentage of people who have goals? The 3% to 33% of those who have set goals for themselves.
Are we simply setting ourselves up for failure? Remember, only about 8% of us achieve our goals – that translates into an underwhelming 0.09% to 2.64% of the total.
Does that mean that we’re doomed to failure? Or is there something we can do to increase our opportunities for success?
Fortunately, the answer is we can do something to increase our chances of success.
That’s where systems come in.
Because statistics also show that when we have systems and support structures in place, we can move from a failure rate of around 90% ‒ 92% to a success rate of 76%.
Does this mean that we should eliminate goals and go with systems alone?
Absolutely not!
Because both are crucial to our success. We must have goals to have a clear vision of where we’re going in our lives, to have a clear vision of the big picture. Yet, we must also have the systems – the daily activities that will get us to the goals.
Think of the goals as the destination, and the systems as the road map for how to get there. Start with each goal and reverse engineer. Deconstruct each goal. Work backwards from each goal with sufficient detail and specificity that will enable you to answer this question:
What can I do today that will move me in the direction of my goal?
Start with a high-level perspective and work your way down to the daily task. For example, start your questioning with this year – what can I do this year? Next, move down to the monthly level – what can I do this month? Next, move down to the weekly level – what can I do this week? Finally, drill down to the daily level – what can I do today?
Now, ask and answer that question every single day. That’s goal-setting to the present.
When you break your goal down into small, daily tasks, even the most daunting goal becomes manageable and achievable.
This focus on your daily activities, while also keeping the big picture in mind, allows you to make adjustments along the way, allows you to course-correct yourself when you find yourself moving off course. Because let’s face it, you will have deviations from the right course. That’s part of the system. So be ready for it, and accept it as part of the process. That’s how it is with any system. After all, the Apollo moon flights were 97+% off course, and they still managed to get to the moon and back.
Plus, as you become more familiar with your system and your daily steps, your course corrections will become more refined, and the course correction itself will become part of your system.
Finally, and presumably, keep in mind that you want to achieve the goal, so you’ll find it enjoyable as you take steps each day to get you there.
Because that’s part of the key to success – you need to develop a system of action steps, that you take each day, that you enjoy doing. Incorporate those action steps into your system things that you will easily, readily, willingly, happily repeat every day. Because it’s consistent, the daily repetition will get you to your goal.
In closing, in the debate between goals and systems, the winner is both. Without the systems, the daily action steps, the goals are just nice pictures on that vision board we made. And without the goals, the daily action steps lack direction and coherence.
When goals and systems are in alignment, we greatly increase our chances of achieving our goals. And we also have the daily success of knowing we’re moving in the right direction.
So remember, goals for vision, systems to make them happen!
Sallie Wagner, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sallie Wagner – speaker, author, lawyer, real estate broker, What’s Next Strategist, and Life Alchemist! Sallie employs Emotional Freedom Techniques, evolved Neurolinguistic Programming, and trauma aware modalities, so clients launch into action for rapid, concrete results, as they ditch unwanted habits, behaviours, fears, phobias, limiting beliefs and decisions.
Sallie spent the majority of her law career in the corporate world. In addition to her other business initiatives, she currently provides broker and contracts compliance services to real estate brokerages throughout Florida. She also owns and operates a real estate school.
