15 Common Challenges You May Face When You Set Goals

Setting goals and achieving them may seem easy, but it is not. This is especially true if you don’t know how the process work and you have never set any goals before.

When I first get to know about the concept of goal setting, I’m so excited. I immediately write down what I wanted to achieve in my life. Guess what, I failed at most of my goals. The reason is that I think goal setting is easy and I treated it like a magic lamp.

I thought that I can achieve whatever I want as long as I write it down. Hence, like most people, I write down one of my main goals is to become a millionaire. Little did I know that the challenges ahead are insurmountable, and I don’t have what it takes to become a millionaire.

Fast forward to this day, I slowly understand how goal-setting work. I started to understand that in order to achieve my goals, I need to transform and improve myself into that person worthy of success.

Goal setting is science and a skill you can master

You can’t just write down you want to earn a million dollars or to lose weight and hope for it to happen. Goal setting is not wishing.

And this is where most people get it wrong. They treat goal setting like a magic wand. They think that if they write down what they want to achieve, they will achieve.

It is not. Goal setting is not plain wishing. It is an act of turning your dreams into reality by creating workable plans and changing your daily behaviors to get there.

In other words, goal setting is a science, not an art. It is something that you can execute, measure, and predict the results you get.

And the journey to achieving your goals can be challenging and tough. This is why a lot of people fail to accomplish their goals.

If you need help and you want to make sure you achieve your goals, check out Goal Setting Formula and use the proven system to get you the results you want in life.

Now, let’s talk about the 15 challenges most people face in setting and achieving their goals…

1. Have too many goals

This is a very common mistake that most people make. They thought that they can achieve whatever they want as long as they write it down, thus, they make a long list of goals and fail to focus on any of them.

The key is in focusing your effort and energy. There is nothing wrong with having 100 goals, but you need to understand which goals to focus on.

Warren Buffett once shared his two-list system with his personal airplane pilot. In the system, Buffett requested his pilot to write down 25 goals and then list down the top 5 goals in one list, and the other 20 goals in another. After that, Buffett asked his pilot to ONLY focus on the top 5 goals and ignore the 20.

Such is the power of focus. When you have too many goals, you will get lost in all of them. You don’t know where to focus and what to do.

Therefore, choose to focus on the few important goals. Don’t spread yourself too thin.

2. Too many distractions

Another common challenge most people face is about handling their distractions. It is not easy to focus on just one or two goals because, in life, there are way too many things waiting for our attention.

And the moment we put our attention to something else, we tend to consume our willpower and energy there. Meaning, you don’t have additional energy for your goals. It’s an opportunity cost you have to consider.

This is why you must learn to manage your distractions. When you work on your goal or a task, choose to put in 100% concentration and work. Do not multitask because multitasking will take away your attention and destroy your focus.

3. Fail to time block and schedule for actions

Now you understand the importance of focus and putting 100% concentration to your goals. What you can do then is to time block and schedule your actions to make sure they get done.

Most people don’t do this. And this is why they fail to find time to work on their goals.

If you want to make sure you get a task done, time block it. This way, you will never forget or procrastinate. Like how a meeting works. You schedule it at a certain time and venue, and then you set a reminder for it.

This is what you can do too for your actionable tasks. You schedule them to make sure they happen and get done.

4. Lack of commitment

This is one of the biggest challenges that people face when it comes to reaching their goals. They simply lack the commitment and that is why they fail to follow through.

If you are interested in achieving your goals, you will do what is convenient. But if you are truly committed to your goals, you will do whatever it takes to accomplish it.

The problem with most people is that they are only interested to achieve their goals, they are not committed.

Whenever they face problems and difficulties, they choose to give up or give way to other things rather than their goals.

If you really want to make your goals come true, you must ask yourself, are you committed? Or are you just interested?

5. Not measuring or tracking their progress

How often do you measure and track your progress? Most people set goals but they don’t measure their results. They know what they want to achieve but they don’t track their progress.

Whatever that you want to improve, you must measure. If you don’t measure, you can’t tell if you are moving forward or backward from your goals.

Read this article below and learn how to set up a measurement system for your goals right now:

How to Track Your Goals: The 5 Fabulous Ways You Should Consider

6. Afraid to do something different and get out of their comfort zone

If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got. In order to achieve your goals, you need to get out of your comfort zone and do something different.

For example, if you are working at a job that earns $5,000 a month and you want to earn more, what do you need to do? You either have to work harder and prove your value in your company so that your boss pays you more, or you will have to start a side project to generate additional income.

But most people choose to do nothing. They continue to go to work and do what they always did. They didn’t work harder, they didn’t ask for a pay raise, and they didn’t put in the effort to start a side business too.

Remember, for things to change, you must change. So, what are the changes you need to make? Is it to adopt a new habit? Is it to start a side project? Identify what you need to do to achieve your goals and do it now.

7. Vague goals

This is a very common mistake and challenge people make in setting goals. They set vague goals. When you set vague goals, it is difficult to create a plan because your objective is unclear.

However, if your goals and the results you want are specific, you are giving your mind a set of clear instructions of what you want. You can then create a plan of actions that are specific and actionable.

8. Expecting quick results

Success takes time and you need to have patience. A lot of people want to see immediate results and when they don’t get what they want, they choose to quit.

Goal setting is not a push-button solution where you can get what you want without hard work and determination. Goal setting is a solution where you need to put in real effort to produce the results you want.

Thus, it is going to take time to see the results you want. If you have a 90 days goal or a one-year goal, stick to it. Do not get distracted and do not give up until the time is up.

Continue to work on your plan and improve. When things don’t work out, improve your strategy, not quitting on your goals.

Read: 10 Powerful Steps How to Fully Commit to Goals That Terrify You

9. Look at obstacles as something that stop them

Another common challenge people have is that they treat obstacles and problems as something that stop you rather than something that improves them.

Successful people are able to achieve extraordinary results in life because they keep improving themselves. Whenever they face difficulties, they treat them as challenges and overcome them.

On the other hand, unsuccessful people look at the problems and treat them as an obstacle that stops them from getting what they want.

Change your perspective from now on. If you want to achieve your goals and be successful, you must treat your problems and obstacles as challenges that grow you, not stopping you.

10. Wait for motivation

Motivation comes and goes. And you can’t rely on motivation alone to succeed. You need to do something to manage your mood, feelings, and emotions. When you are not motivated, do something to drive yourself up.

More importantly, learn to build habits so that you don’t have to wait for motivation to act.

The thing that separates successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people choose to take action even when they don’t feel like it. Unsuccessful people, on the contrary, choose to procrastinate and give up when they don’t feel motivated.

Thus, either you do something to motivate yourself, or you build productive habits so that you rely less on your motivation.

11. Not being consistent enough

This is a vital challenge that people face in achieving their goals – not being consistent enough.

When people started with their goals, they are motivated and they take a lot of actions. But as time goes by, they started to lose their drive and interest with their goals. They take less and less action and eventually, they quit.

Never let this happen to you. Be consistent with your goals and stick to your plans.

Success is not so much about greatness. Success is more about being consistent with your daily actions because it is what you do on a daily basis that determines your success. And greatness will come.

12. They don’t believe they can do it

Do you believe you can achieve your goals? Well, you may say yes, but your answer should come from your heart. Many people make the mistake by setting a big goal that they don’t believe they can achieve.

For example, they are earning $5,000 a month and they set a goal to earn a million dollars by the end of the year.

Now, I’m not saying this is totally impossible, but if you don’t believe you can do it, you will sabotage your own actions. You will give a half-hearted attempt and take half-interested actions.

You won’t give your best because you don’t believe you can do it. So why try, right?

Hence, make sure you believe you can do it.

13. Give up and quit on their goals

One of the most difficult challenges in reaching your goals is to never give up. As long as you don’t give up and continue to improve and work on your plan, you will eventually get there.

But sadly, most people choose to easy way out. They choose to give up and quit so that they don’t have the deal with the pressure, stress, and the problems.

However, you have to understand that a winner will never quit and a quitter will never win. The moment you quit, you wasted all the previous effort and time you put in. So, don’t give up no matter what.

Read: How To Not Give Up On Your Dreams: The 7 Steps Process

14. Not willing to sacrifice now for a better future

Are you willing to sacrifice your leisure and work harder now in exchange for a better future? You see, working hard is necessary. It is none negotiable. If you read the success stories of extraordinary people, you will notice that almost all of them work extremely hard to get amazing results in life.

The problem is that most people are not willing to sacrifice and do the hard stuff. They prefer to do the easy and convenient rather than the difficult things now.

They choose to watch TV and play computer games rather than working on their goals. They choose to enjoy the bowl of hot chocolate cakes rather than eating healthy and exercise to stay fit.

If you’re not willing to sacrifice and work hard right now, you will continue to be where you are in the future.

Accept this challenge and overcome it.

15. They don’t work on improving themselves

The only way to get to higher ground is to work on improving yourself so that you can produce better results. Most people fail to understand this, and they thought that they can achieve huge success in life with just their current skills and knowledge.

You are where you are now because of your skills and knowledge. If you want to create more success, get ready to improve yourself, to hone your skills, and to acquire better knowledge.

This is what successful people do. They read, they attend classes, they improve their capabilities, and they improve their results.

Conclusion

These are the 15 challenges of goal setting that most people face. If you want to make sure you achieve your goals, face these challenges and overcome them.

It is not easy, but it is not impossible either. Follow the advice in this article and create the life of your dreams.