Benjamin Franklin once said, “If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail”. As we have entered the new year of 2022, collectively we are thinking about fresh starts and big plans for the next 365 days! But there’s never a wrong time to set a goal and plan for achieving. This is what makes life interesting, inspiring and purpose filled! 

Unfortunately, many have bought into the idea that planning and goal setting look the same for everyone, and that’s simply untrue!

Failed Plans

It’s exciting to announce a new goal! It’s exciting to brainstorm on the HOW, it’s exciting to take the first few steps…and then…it’s suddenly work, repetition and the luster is gone. Many times, the loss of luster takes away the drive for the result. What happened? 

Nobody sets out to lose interest in their goals that once drove them to spend all that time and energy to announce, plan and act, but I’d say most of our population ends up here very soon after the initial excitement has set in. 

Lots of speculation has occurred around the why, and books, podcasts and businesses are built around how to do it better. If all the information is correct and helpful, why does one person succeed while another fails? Is it will-power, want, intelligence or the sheer drive…or is it something simpler that we have missed along the way? 

Who We Are Matters?

The answer became clear to me when I was the one frustrated about why I could hit some goals without much effort, while other goals that I worked so HARD to achieve felt impossible to hit! The goals were equally profound, one not being more difficult than the other, so my deduction always came back to me and where I failed. Over time, this made me feel like goals were a bit of a waste as I hadn’t really found success in achievement. 

Clarity on the “why” set in after I began working with individuals on a neurological level. This is where I began to recognize that we achieve differently based on how we feel with that process, and that depending on how our most basic neurological pathways lined up…we could succeed and feel success, or we could fail and feel drained! Even if we succeed and feel drained after because we pushed through somehow, the goal was a bit less shiny than when we started, and we most certainly wouldn’t want to repeat that system. 

What Are You?

Often I get asked about the best ways for people to achieve goals. My answer is always the same. Depends on the person. Once you know yourself, you will understand and feel so validated by the how for YOU!

It’s a learning curve. 

There are two specific categories of people, and recently I did a video regarding this if you’d like to watch, click here. The two categories are GENERALISTS and SPECIALISTS. 

Generalists

• Have a predominant focus on the outcome vs the process. 
• Would prefer to take whatever path most makes sense to them to reach their objective, may hop, skip and jump to get their faster. 
• Would describe themselves as being impatient.
• Too much process and repetition can feel draining.

If you feel like you align with most of these traits, you MAY be a generalist. You will always put a bit more weight on the result vs. the process. 

Here are a few quick tips:

1. Focus on the outcome, and the subsequent benefit to you! 
2. Challenge yourself. Set the bar, then raise it just a bit higher.
3. Don’t impose TOO much structure on the HOW, leave some fluidity.
4. Allow some variety in your plan, play with a few different ways to achieve while keeping your interest!
5. Vision boarding and visualizing the goal being achieved!

Specialists

• Have a predominant focus on the process vs. the outcome. They love the integrity of how they get there. 
• Enjoys creating plans!
• Likes to take measured steps to achievement. Long focus and planning are an energy source. 
• Would describe themselves as patient.

If you feel like you align with most of these traits, you MAY be a specialist. You will always put a bit more weight on the process vs. the outcome. 

Here are a few quick tips:

1. Collaborate with others when setting your goals. 
2. Build a plan to accomplish the goals using SMART goals.
3. Use a vision board to really put focus on your plan and your results.
4. If your goals impact a team, be sure to communicate how your goals impact the collective and get excited about that!
5. Time blocking and structure will feel good. Measured steps and benchmarks will light you up once achieved!

These are just a few take aways, but if you’re looking to dive deeper into YOU and how YOU will best achieve and feel best achieving, click here to learn your own unique wiring and get a consult on moving forward with your goals!