Overcoming Obstacles to Achieving Your Goals
Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible ~ Tony Robbins
1. Putting your goals off until ‘someday.’
• Create a clear plan with a timeline and change ‘someday’ to a definitive time frame.
o Specific date | Certain year | Certain age
• i.e. “I will complete a semester long study abroad experience in London during my junior year
of college.”
2. Waiting to take action until you ‘feel’ ready.
• Taking action often results in emotions to follow.
• Once you get going on the goal, it is easier to keep up with the momentum.
• “Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso
3. Not anticipating the tough times.
• Brainstorm potential challenges and create a plan to overcome them.
• A plan builds confidence and defeats temptation to achieving your goals.
• i.e. “I want to graduate in 4 years, but the class for my major is only offered early in the morning
and I struggle to get up.” “I will start going to bed earlier and ask a classmate if we can walk to
class together.”
4. Viewing mistakes as failure.
• See mistakes as learning lessons and develop a plan to get back on track when mistakes
happen.
• i.e. “I missed the deadline on the class project. I will put all deadlines in my planner moving
forward to remind me.”
5. Not making your goal a priority.
• Take steps each day towards your goals.
• i.e. “I want to earn a B in Introduction to Psychology, so I will spend 10 minutes each day
reviewing my notes or reading the textbook.”
6. Underestimating how hard it will be.
• Starting a goal can be easier than maintaining it over the long term.
• Continually remind yourself that achieving a goal takes time and is hard work.
• i.e. “I lost 25 pounds, but now I must choose to eat healthy and exercise to maintain my
weight.”
7. Giving up before you see results.
• Avoid instant gratification and be patient with the process.
• i.e. “I couldn’t run a mile in 8 minutes a month ago, but because I kept with my training plan, I
now achieved my goal.”
8. Sabotaging yourself just before the finish line.
• Be real with yourself and pay attention to feelings or thoughts influencing your success.
• Reflect on goals in the past that had challenges and how you overcame the challenges.
• i.e. “I earned a B on my first math exam, but this one I earned an F. I feel like I should give up
and drop the class. I didn’t go to the Math Help Center before this exam; I should use this
resource again and see how the next exam goes.”
9. Setting your sights too high.
• Set short-term goals that align with your long-term goal and celebrate the small successes.
• i.e. “My long-term goal is to graduate with a 4 year degree.” “My short-terms goals include:
attending all of my classes each week, start studying for exams at least 5 days before, and meet
with each of my professors during their office hours at least once a semester.”
Reference
Morin, A., (2016, July 26). How to overcome the 9 most common obstacles that prevent people from
living their dreams. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/9-things-that-will-
prevent-you-from-reaching-your-goals-and-how-to-avoid-those-c.html
