I’m driving my daughter to school Friday and the loud radio announcement comes on…TODAY IS NATIONAL QUITTER DAY!!! Did you know that the 2nd Friday of January is when most people give up on their new year’s resolution goals? Got me thinking about why this happens and what makes people successful…

In the last 20 years of coaching high achieving leaders and ambitious professionals, I reflected on the Top 10 patterns I have seen on why they give up or don’t make their goals. Here they are and the success strategy of what to do instead. They:

1. Don’t shift the underlying MINDSET patterns that create change in behavior. This is critical, to rewire the unconscious stories, beliefs and fears that hold us back or else we continue to repeat limiting habits. What we believe is what we can receive.

2. Create “should” goals instead of truly INSPIRED visions. If your goals feel like you have to, need to, or are supposed to and feel arduous – stop and ask yourself: what does your heart and soul and best self really desire that would light you up?

3. Forget to WRITE them down and have visual reminders. Studies show that you are 42% more likely to achieve goals just by writing them down. Describing them clearly, using all your senses, using pleasing imagery, and visual reminders increases that even more.

4. Don’t set up the right or regular SUPPORT systems. I’m talking experts, colleagues and friends that will help, encourage, inspire and challenge you in a positive way AND have regular routines, systems and practices for accountability.

5. Take on too many things at once and don’t PRIORITIZE. People often way underestimate what it takes to change or execute on “new things” and get overwhelmed, over-do or over-commit. New mindsets, actions, habits and results require energetic space and actual time to implement and saying no to other things.

6. BELIEVE more in their fears and excuses than themselves. Our rationale brain loves to obsess over fears and perfectly logical excuses (I call these PLEs). We have to actively build neuropathways of belief in our strengths, resources, competency and gifts we do have and ability make things happen!

7. Lack SELF-AWARENESS and repeat things that do not work. Self-reflection is key when a strategy doesn’t work, but instead people go into defeat or repeat. There is great wisdom to learn from failures & resistance patterns that lead to more success.

8. Shame and criticize themselves vs. ACKNOWLEDGING progress. Beating yourself up when things don’t happen is not an effective motivation strategy. It has the opposite effect. We need positive energy and fuel to keep going when things get hard, so celebrating all progress – every small win – elicits confidence, reward satisfaction, and more actions.

9. Failure to consistently track and MEASURE success. Clients say all the time they don’t know how to measure soft side of change (mindsets, presence, feelings, culture, energy) or their measurement process is arduous. Use your whole self and all your senses of what success looks and feels like and find simple and enjoyable ways to track it and infuse the good mojo reward feeling into your measurement.

10. Underestimate the small practices that make big RESULTS. Small daily or weekly practices create new patterns and BIG results, but can get very route, boring or seem insignificant. We have to keep connecting to the bigger purpose and inspiring outcomes that come from our small actions, commitment and discipline.

See all these words in CAPS above? Those words are great “visual reminders” of what it takes to execute on your highest and most audacious goals. Scroll up and read just those words – or write down the ones you need to remember.

Do you see yourself in any of these patterns above? I’d LOVE to know what resonated with you and was helpful. I’ll be sharing on my social channels on these and want these blogs to be valuable to you. Reply here and let me know….

More Ways to Achieve Your Goals this Year and Work with Me…

If you or your teams have ambitious goals you want to make sure you bang out of the park this year, I’d love to help you and be your Leadership Coach. My clients for 20 years consistently report that they achieved WAY MORE than they ever expected. Reply here and let’s talk or DM me.

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