Do you set your goals for the future, based on your past?

In the past I’ve spent a lot of time reading self help books, books on achievement and getting where you want to go etc and they always have chapters on goal setting. One thing I’ve learnt over the years when I look back on all my experiences, is that despite the fact that we’ve come across information on how to set goals more times than we can count, many of us still don’t set goals properly.

You see, a goal is really a projection into the future isn’t it? It’s an aim, a purpose, something that we want to work towards or achieve by a certain date in the future. Maybe it’s a small goal that we can accomplish in a week, maybe it’s a huge goal, like a 5-year life plan for example, but either way, it’s based on a hope for the future.

Why then, do we set goals based on what’s happened in the past? I often hear people say things like ‘well the last time I went on a diet I only lost 5 kilo’s, if I could do that again I’d be happy’. If this person only had 5 kg’s to lose then that would be fine, but what if they really had 10 kg’s, or 20kg that needed to come off?

It makes no sense to set a goal and work towards a future projection based on what happened in the past. It creates a set point. A limiting factor that prevents us from achieving what we really want to do. From experience, if someone has 20kg’s to lose, they know it. They want that 20kg’s gone. The chances are however that they’ve tried before, and failed. Their confidence is shot, they’re feeling self conscious, they don’t want to look like a failure, they’re worried about what everyone else thinks, and so they aim for a target they know they can hit because they’ve done it before.

What if we just aim a little higher from the outset? What if we say ‘alright, last time I lost 5kg’s. I learnt from that experience, I know where I went wrong. I can see exactly how I fell off that bandwagon, and this time, I’m better prepared. I am going to lose 20kg. I know it will take me a while, it won’t be achieved this week, and so I’m going to set this time frame. I will do this.’ Even if you miss your target, you’ll be further ahead than before.

When you’re setting goals, look to the future, not the past. Decide what you want, and know that you can have it. Don’t look to the past and settle on average. Look to the future and work towards it, day-by-day, hour-by-hour.