Uncategorized

Why Your Goals Aren’t Attainable (And How To Fix That!)

January 31, 2025admin

***This post contains affiliate links, which means we make a small commission when you make a purchase through one of our links.***

Most people feel ambitious around this time of year. After all, it’s exciting, isn’t it? We start conjuring up all the possibilities that a new year could bring. Perhaps you’re dreaming of quitting your job in order to start your own business. Or, maybe you’re envisioning a healthier version of yourself by the end of the year.

All this buzz of ambitious excitement can definitely be a good thing. However, if you actually want these things to come to fruition, then you must have goals to get you there.

But here’s the kicker: not all goals are created equal.

In fact, I’d wager that most people start the new year with at least one or two goals they’d like to accomplish in the year ahead. Yet, many people never see their goals realized, and that’s simply because their goals aren’t attainable.

Having attainable goals is what sets those who actually accomplish their goals apart from those who fall short.

The best way to ensure your goals are attainable is by using the S.M.A.R.T. framework. Here, we’ll breakdown what this methodology is and how you can use it to crush every goal you set for yourself from here on out!

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Most people’s goals aren’t attainable because they aren’t setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. You may have heard this buzzy term before in productivity or self-help books and online forums. But, what even are S.M.A.R.T. goals, how are they different, and how do they actually help you stay on track with your goals?

S.M.A.R.T. goals date all the way back to the early eighties when business consultant George T. Doran framed the concept as we know it. He realized that most businesses had goals that were vague and nonspecific. He observed that many businesses were desperately wishing for results they never got, because their goals were failing them! Sound familiar?

S.M.A.R.T. goals work because they force you to get specific with your goals and make it easier to stay accountable with them.

So, now, let’s break down the acronym and see how you can start creating goals for yourself that you’ll actually reach!

Specific

The first letter in the S.M.A.R.T. acronym stands for specific.

If you want to set goals that are attainable, then you first need to get really specific on what your goal actually is.

It’s too vague to say something like “I want to lose weight this year”. This goal isn’t specific enough and doesn’t set any parameters around how this goal will be attained. Be very clear on what it is you want to achieve. Instead, we could say “I want to lose twenty pounds”. That’s a specific goal – we’ve now defined the exact amount of weight we wish to lose.

When goal-setting for yourself, be as specific as you can about what it is exactly you want to accomplish.

Measurable

Next, you’ll want to figure out how you’ll track your progress towards your goal.

If a goal isn’t measurable, then there’s no way of knowing if you’re on the right track to achieving that goal or not.

If this step seems hard, then your goal probably isn’t specific enough, and you’ll need to go back to the first step before proceeding further.

Going back to our example of wanting to lose twenty pounds. That goal is measurable because you can easily weigh yourself regularly and see how much progress you’re making.

Plan how you’ll measure your goal as well as where you’ll keep your recordings.

It can be helpful to keep your progress tracking somewhere visible. Seeing the progress you’re making will keep you motivated in working toward your goal’s completion. You can keep your results in a notebook, on your computer, or even hang it somewhere around the house where you know you’ll see it frequently.

The more progress you see, the more motivation you’ll have to continue working toward your goal!

Achievable

In order to reach a goal, it has to actually be achievable.

After all, why work hard for something if you’re not going to be able to actually attain it in the end?

To make sure your goal is achievable, you’ll need to evaluate how realistic it is for you to reach your goal from where you are currently.

This definitely requires some humility, self-awareness, and honestly with one’s self. Wanting to lose twenty pounds in three months without a current disciplined lifestyle is a near-impossible goal. However, you could realistically lose twenty pounds in six months if you first commit to establishing healthy eating and exercise habits for thirty days and then focus on losing four pounds per month.

Making sure your goal is achievable sets you up for success, eliminating the feeling of failure and heartbreak, as long as you put in the work.

Relevant

The next step to ensure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. is making sure they’re relevant.

Why do you want to achieve this goal?

Does it align with who you want to be in the future?

Are you doing this because you want to? Or because of outside influences (family, social media, etc.)?

These are all questions you’ll want to ask yourself to make sure your goal is a relevant one.

If you want to become a healthier person and are overweight, then the goal to lose twenty pounds is a perfectly relevant one! It’s relevant because it’s getting you closer to the ideal version of yourself!

Time-bound

Lastly, your goals should be time-bound.

When you don’t have a timeframe for when you want to achieve your goal by, there’s no motivation to get started.

That’s precisely why so many people set New Year’s Resolutions only to wait until the end of the year to start frantically trying to reach those goals at the last minute. They go through the entire year thinking they’ve got plenty of time only to realize in October that there’s not enough time left to reach the goals they set.

Having a specific deadline for your goals and mini-goals keeps you focused and motivated. It also holds you accountable for the amount of progress you make (or don’t make).

When your goals are time-bound, you can then begin to work backwards, breaking down the monthly, weekly, and even daily tasks that need to be done to stay on track.

Conclusion

If you’ve struggled with feeling like your goals aren’t attainable in the past, setting S.M.A.R.T. goals can help you finally achieve them once and for all. Ensure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. By doing this, you make your goals work for you, instead of the other way around! The S.M.A.R.T. goal framework will set you up for success in all your future endeavors, whatever it is you choose to pursue!