Top barriers to goal setting and strategic planning [and how to overcome them].
Have you ever found yourself coming up with a vision or an idea, but soon after you begin feeling stuck? You don’t know where to being, how to set the right goals, how to plan your strategy to go ahead and execute them?
Well, you’re not alone.
There are many reasons why you might hit those barriers to goal setting and strategic planning. But here not only will you identify your specific barriers, but you will also be given a step-by-step guide to overcome them.
Let’s get you on the right track to building your business and executing those great ideas of yours.
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What are goal setting and strategic planning in business?
Goal setting is the process of identifying objectives that you want to achieve in your business. They provide a sense of direction and motivation to go after what you truly want.
The SMART framework is a great technique to help you successfully set your goals with focus and direction so that you can maximize your time effectively and reduce the time between setting the goal and achieving it.
S: Make the goal specific ensuring it is clearly defined without leaving any ambiguity.
M: Ensure the goal is measurable allowing you to track your progress and measure success.
A: Make sure it is achievable and that you believe it is possible for you. Can you feel you can attain it?
R: Try to make it relevant to your vision, passion, and purpose but also your needs and wants in life.
T: Goals should also be time-bound, so ensure you set a very specific time frame
Strategic planning means being intentional about goal setting and ensuring that you put those goals into action. It starts with setting targets, establishing a sequence of how to achieve them, and then taking that first step. The first step is the hardest but once you get past that each subsequent step will come easier and easier. As an entrepreneur, you want to be in charge of the direction you take and strategic planning will get you there.
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GOAL SETTING
What are the five 5 barriers to achieving goals?
Lack of self-belief.
Lack of self-belief can have a significant impact on your ability to set goals, because if your confidence is not top-notch how will you ever feel deserving of or even allow yourself to envision the absolute best-case scenario for your life? The fear of failure and negative self-talk will ultimately limit your vision.
You will likely stay low, and modest and play small.
Quick-fire tip: Create a vision board. This is a fun and creative activity apart from just a strategic activity. It means your creative side might overpower any negative self-talk and you will want to create the biggest and best dreams possible on your vision board. Start small and never forget to celebrate each one of those small steps.
Not knowing what you want.
The vaguer your vision, the vaguer your goals and therefore your strategy. It is not possible to strive towards a goal if you are not 100% sure of what you want – because how can you give it your 100% commitment?
What contributes to this?
Lack of clarity, indecisiveness, and lack of motivation.
But how to overcome this barrier?
By setting intentions, writing them down, and reading them out loud. Allow your intentions to be very broad initially. Internalize them and then begin to break them down into smaller steps.
Explore what it is that lights you up. What would make you want to get out of bed in the morning?
Lack of focus.
Without a focus, you risk putting your energy and efforts into the wrong things that will not move the needle. It’ll be very difficult to prioritize what is truly important.
The other danger you run into is that you will try to work on multiple goals simultaneously, meaning your attention will be scattered, and you’ll make less progress on any one of them.
Quick-fire tip: priories your work and don’t work on more than one big task at a time. Once you have the right prioritize set, create a schedule where you actually block out time in your diary to work on it. And the most obvious but often the hardest – identify and eliminate distractions.
Fear of success.
With more success comes more responsibility. Plus, the higher you climb, the more you feel you have to lose.
Those two things can lead you to self-sabotage your success because they can paralyze you, preventing you from taking steps forward.
You are less likely to take the necessary risks and make tough decisions.
Staying in your comfort zone.
Staying in your comfort zone means sticking to doing what you know well, what you feel you are good at, and working on the things that come easily to you.
Now that’s nice and all, but it won’t move the needles in your business. It will limit your business growth big time!
Yes stepping outside your comfort zone, is scary and uncomfortable and it takes some mental effort but boy will the results be worth it.
Setting ambitious goals requires you to do the unthinkable and have enough boldness to set the highest goals so that you can motivate yourself to go big on your dreams.
What are the six common problems with goal setting?
Shiny object syndrome.
Shiny object syndrome is a phenomenon where you see someone else doing something a little differently to you, you think it is a good idea, and it causes you to change direction and chase that new thing.
You can see how that can be dangerous for goal setting and your business success.
The problem is that new ideas, inspirations, and new ways of doing things will always be there. You will probably come across something new every day.
You have to be smart about calculating what you do with that information because if you change direction every time something thrilling comes your way, you will be changing your goals and direction on a weekly basis. It means you will never stick with a goal long enough to see it through, and it stalls your success.
No prioritization.
When you don’t prioritize your goals and activities, you can become overwhelmed, unfocused, and scattered. This can lead to a lack of progress, missed opportunities, and ultimately, a failure to achieve your goals.
So how can you avoid it and improve your prioritisation skills?
First brain dump on a piece of paper everything you need to do. I mean everything. Then set a time frame by which you need to have all of this completed. It could be a day or a week.
Then create three separate to-do lists.
- Must do – these are the tasks you absolutely need to tick off, no question.
- Should do – these are the tasks that are medium priority. If you complete them, it will make some difference, but if you do not, nothing will fall apart.
- Could do – these are the extra thing. Not necessary but if you do happen to finish everything from the above lists, you can work on these too.
Lack of alignment.
Lack of alignment of your goals with your values and passions will lead to one thing and one thing only – disruptive goals.
You may work on things that don’t help you move forward. This can lead to wasted time, money, and resources, which can be detrimental to your business. In addition, you are far more likely to burn out.
So how do you stay aligned?
Well, the most important thing is to get very clear on your values and your passions. Few entrepreneurs really do this exercise, but it is one that will set up the right foundation for you to grow your business.
Unrealistic goals.
Ladies, setting unrealistic goals can sabotage your goal-setting and success faster than a pumpkin spice latte disappears from a coffee shop in October!
Yes, we want to dream big and strive for the impossible but that still must be well-balanced. Setting realistic goals does not mean you will never be able to set those big goals. But at the current moment, stretching so far ahead could backfire and set you back.
You don’t want to get discouraged.
To get around that, try to break the big dream down into a few different phases. And then just focus on completing one phase at a time. Have a clear end goal for phase 1 and only move to phase 2 once you reach the phase 1 milestone.
Too far-reaching goals.
Setting goals that are too far-reaching can be overwhelming and intimidating. Also, you’re likely focusing on results, which is so far away that, you will have little to celebrate in the immediate future. This means you could very easily get discouraged as you are “not seeing the results”.
It can mean you lose sight of the amazing progress you have made so far.
By breaking your big goals into smaller steps, and celebrating your progress along the way, you can avoid this trap and achieve the success you deserve!
Goals that are only about winning.
I never discourage a bit of a competitive streak – it keeps you moving forward, noticing opportunities, and staying ahead of the competition. But if you focus your goals only on winning you will likely struggle mentally because you’ll be less resilient to setbacks. Winning is not always in your control.
Winning does not always equal success. There is so much more that makes up success such as learning, personal growth, and development.
What are the 7 keys to effective goal setting?
Key 1: State your goal.
We may think about it, or we may daydream about it. It pops up in our minds. But there is that extra impact when you actually state your goals out loud, tell someone about it or simply write it down.
It creates a greater sense of accountability.
Key 2: Make a solid plan.
Now is the time to slay and take your game to the next level. I know that planning can sound a bit meh and boring and corporate but there is really power in crafting a plan.
A solid plan is like a map toward your dream. It can help you organize all those fantastic ideas, prioritize them and pick the right focus that will help you succeed… much faster.
So, grab your favorite planner or notebook, get creative, and start mapping out your dreams and goals!
Key 3: Commitment to the goal.
To stay committed to your goals you need to ensure your goals are committable.
I know it can be tough to stay committed to your goals when life gets busy or setbacks arise. So here is a few tricks that you can use to ensure when you do set goals, they are relevant and possibly long-term.
The magic trio to committable goals is:
- Breaking the goals down as much as possible. This way you will begin to shape the pathway.
- Celebrate those small wins along the way.
- Track your progress. You’ll have an account of your progress and stay more committed to the goal.
Key 4: Set a deadline.
By breaking down your goals, you now probably have a pretty solid idea of how much the goal entails Be realistic about your capacity and find ways to time block chunks of time where you can work on the small goals. AND SET A DEADLINE by which you hope to complete it.
Key 5: Dedicate time to reaching your goal.
Schedule time in advance and block it out – this is your no-distraction time. Let your partner, family, and friends know so that you have this time to yourself.
Make spending time working on this easy and fun. Create a workspace that inspires you. Put on your favorite music or put on your diffuser. Whatever makes you feel good.
Key 6: Persevere through the challenges.
You already know that building a successful business takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Challenges will come your way, but with the right mindset and tools, you can overcome them and continue on the path to success.
Keeping a positive mindset is key to persevering through challenges. When faced with obstacles, it’s easy to get discouraged, but focusing on the positive can help you stay motivated and find solutions.
Key 7: Don’t underestimate the power of reward.
Finally, celebrate your wins, no matter how small they may be. Recognizing your progress and achievements will help you stay motivated and remind you of your strength and resilience.
As a fun-loving entrepreneur, you can make this process fun by creating a celebration ritual. Pop a bottle of champagne, dance to your favorite song, or treat yourself to something you love.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
What are the 7 elements of strategic planning?
- Determine where you presently are.
- Define where you want to get to.
- Define what you MUST achieve.
- Define what you SHOULD and COULD achieve.
- Start with the MUST-do action that will bring you the biggest results.
- Take action.
- Review regularly.
How do you create a strategic plan?
Creative market business plan
Productivity planner Amazon
Work block timer
Goal setting planner
Canva
So, let’s go out there and slay those goals, ladies!