|
|
Brought to you by Realizations.
Premium Lined Notebooks
|
07/21/2025
You’re going about it all wrong.
Your goals have a deadline:
“I’ll workout until I lose 10lbs.”
But what happens next, [FORMATTED_FIRST_NAME GOES HERE]?
You default back to your current operating system.
But you disguise it as “taking a break,” or “rewarding yourself.”
Yet, all the hard work you’ve been putting in is now going to waste.
What’s Wrong With Goals
My whole life I’ve been a goal-setter. From back when I was a teenager who carried a piece of scrap paper in my pocket with a checklist, to now when I write daily objectives and long-term destinations.
Goals are good.
But learning how to properly set them is the superpower.
What to Avoid (and why it’s hindering your progress)
Most people set goals one day and forget about them the next.
Here are The Big 3 Don’t Do’s to avoid when setting goals (and why):
- Don’t overcomplicate it — When things get tough, your goals will be the first things to be put aside.
- Don’t hide them — “Out of site, out of mind.” You don’t need to make them public, but make sure they are listed somewhere you will see them on a daily basis.
- Don’t limit your goals to your timeline — You need a transition plan for what you will do after achieving your goal. Failing to establish this will result in defaulting back to your current status and possibly eliminating all of your progress.
We need to change the way we see goal-setting and progress.
Because, after all, your striving for change. And change isn’t temporary.
- You don’t want to build a business to change your life temporarily.
- You don’t want better health to feel better for 3 months.
- You don’t want healthier relationships to be satisfied until October.
You want it to last.
Plus, the hardest part is the beginning. The initial change. So might as well ride it out.
Here’s what to do, and why it helps:
First, you need to see it as a lifestyle change. You’re auditing your life, not setting goals.
This is the scary part.
“But I don’t want to change my life.”
If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Once you’re on-board with the lifestyle audit approach, everything else falls in line.
Here’s Your New Approach to Goals:
❌ I’ll eat healthy until I lose 10lbs
✅ I’m a person who eats healthy and I’d like to lose 10lbs by October 1st.
❌ Write 500 words a day to build my business.
✅ I’m a writer and default to a minimum of 500 words a day.
❌ Read 10 books this year
✅ I discover books I love to read and will read at least 10 books this year.
The goals start with a clarifying statement of who you are.
- You are a person who eats healthy the moment you decide to be.
- You are a writer the moment you decide to be.
- You are a reader the moment you decide to be.
With this new approach, although you’ve hit each goal, you’re still a healthy person, you still write, and you still love to read.
Even if you let your foot off the gas a bit, you are still defaulting to behaviors that promote growth.
And in doing so, you avoid the sensation of “ah I finally did it. Now back to normal!”
- You have a new normal.
- You’ve enhanced your goals.
- You’ve audited your life.
And now progress continues even without the max-effort you’ve been putting in.
Sure, you can relax. Celebrate, even.
But who you are now is different than who you were before.
And that’s the ultimate goal, isn’t it?
Until next time,
Dallen "Goals are Good" Reber
P.S. I’ve been working on something that puts all of this into practice—a digital self-mastery journal. Instead of tracking random goals that lead nowhere, it helps you define who you’re becoming and builds systems that make that identity stick. No more starting over every Monday. If you’re ready to stop cycling through the same goals and actually become the person you want to be, I’d love to share it with you when it’s ready. All you have to do is click here to be the first to see it.
When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you: