Why Do You Keep Changing Your Goals Often?
Are you someone who constantly keeps changing your goals or plans?
You may often find yourself in a situation where you plan off well but are tempted to change your goal midway.
It is to note that your goal may change over a period of time because of your age, maturity and self-awareness. But it is not the same when it comes to changing your goals very often within a period of time. It is okay to see changes in your preferences over your goals over time and age while it is not so okay to change your goals very often in period time.
There are many reasons why your attitude shifts towards goal setting. This may vary and depend from person to person.
I have listed out some reasons below as to why you keep changing our goals.
The reason why keep changing your goals is because
1. You have less knowledge about your goals and yourself
This is one prominent reason for goal changing.
Many times the reason why people keep changing from one goal to another is because they have less knowledge about their goals. Just because you read about it in a book or got inspired from a movie or were pumped listening to a story of someone, it doesn’t mean you also have to do the same. Many people make this mistake despite the fact that they have less or zero knowledge in that area.
Due to this, you tend to stumble from your goals and find it difficult to focus on your goal. If you do not know about the path and journey you are planning to reach then you are likely to get lost.
Pro Tip
Before you can fix your goals, it is essential to acquire sufficient knowledge about them. Make efforts to know the pros and cons of the goal or destination you choose to pursue. Asking for advice or experience from the people who have achieved the goals you pursue might also help equip you with much knowledge.
Do a detailed research. Make use of the internet and connect with people who are or have been into the same goal you are chasing. Knowing the practicality and the hardships faced along the way by others might give a sufficient image of a similar image of your path to your goal.
2. You compare yourself with others
Another reason why you keep changing your goals is because you do not know about yourself and capacity. I know many of my colleagues and friends who got exhausted from pursuing their goals. This is because they were uncertain about their goals. They had not truly found their passion or area of interest.
Everyone starts off very well and aims to achieve big things within a small time. But on the way, they tend to lose focus and motivation because. Hence, they switch to some other goal and eventually compromise with their dreams.
Each one of us is unique. We are embodied with different talents and uniqueness within us.The time taken to achieve a goal by someone need not be sufficient for another to achieve the same task.
For an example…
I know a friend who lost 10kilograms of weight in just 2 months. But on the other hand, I struggled to lose even 2 kilograms in a month.
I hear influencers say — The richest man and you have the same 24 hours a day. It all depends on your focus and blah blah..But to be more practical, the richest man on earth and you might have the same 24 hours a day but the 24 hours are not the same for both of you. You might have to get your laundry done by yourself but he gets it outsourced by someone.
Pro Tip:
A goal achieved sooner by someone might take some more time than them for you. A little flexibility with your plans is okay, but if they are too rigidly set then they tend to go stale and become harder to achieve.
It is vital to know your capability, speed and tendency towards your goal. Compare your yester-self. See if you have made progress than what you were yesterday. If you keep looking for answers and goals to chase outside then you will always find the grass greener and greener….
3. Your Goals And Your Efforts Differs
Every year or month or week, we make resolutions and plans for the coming days to achieve. We become the ‘Ultimate Leader in Planning’ and plan out things really well. We also get them written down in neat bullet points (I have been there!). But we miss out in implementing or working towards them.
For example:
You plan to read a book a month. You decide to read 10 pages a day and ultimately complete the book by the end of the month. But you feel sleepy the moment you start reading or probably get some important work that day. Eventually, you decide to read 20 pages the next day. But you probably don’t.
You tend to lose interest mid-way before reaching your goals due to unrealistic goals or simply not taking enough steps to achieve those goals
The reason for not working towards your goal despite your planning might be many.
I have listed out some reasons below:
- You lack motivation, or
- You get distracted easily.
- You are prone to procrastination.
- Your goals are unrealistic,etc
- You lack confidence
Once we feel our goal is not achievable, we plan now to compromise it to something easier.
Pro Tip
You may give read to the above articles for better understanding. Make sure you set goals that are neither too hard nor too boring. Keep it to a check that the goal you are chasing is a bit challenging but not too hard. This will keep you motivated and do it again. Be kind with yourself and give yourself a break at times. It is better to be slow and steady rather be fast and lose track along the way.
4. You tend to give-up too soon.
In this age of social media and technology, it is to get distracted and waver from your goals.
You are more prone to get deviated from your plans if you set some good challenging goal but lack confidence to do it and get easily demotivated over a hurdle.
Let’s say you plan to reach a destination. You start off from your home and eventually find some slopes, potholes and traffic along the way. You find hurdles and obstacles that tend to get in your way.
What do you do in that situation? Do you stop your journey and get back home again?
Certainly Not! You get some time and reach the destination however. It is the same with our goals and plans too. Many get demotivated very soon just because they find some hurdles along the way and waver from their plans.
Pro Tip:
The obstacles and hurdles you face may be different from the others. You can take time and analyze what is keeping you behind and recognize the obstacles in your goals. This attitude to give up soon makes you waver from your goals often and never lets you stick to one.
5. You have a wavering mind
A possible reason why you waver is because you find that the other goal or plan is always more fascinating.
Exactly like the quote ‘The Grass is always Greener on the other side’. You find something else which feels much better and fascinating than the one you have planned for. Eventually you waver or change from your goals. And again you find something else more greener and the cycle keeps going.
In many areas of life, as one keeps progressing, there is something we will always find which would be better than us. You opt to buy a Toyota, you will find a Ferrari which is better one that. What is important here is that you should know what suits you and would find its place within you limited budget.
So with your goals too, you may always find another best alternative. One must know which one is truly etched for their passion and skills.
Pro Tip:
It is really important for you to be clear with the ‘Why’ with your goal. Are you doing it because your friend is doing it or are you really passionate about it?. Once the ‘Why’ is clear then you lay strong foundations to your goal and don’t tend to waver from them. Be honest with the ‘Why’ and you will probably know the outcome.
On the other side..
Your goals may naturally change as you attain more and more maturity. And I believe that is part of your life. You may have wanted something but changed from it because you found it is something that does not feel right at the moment. Or you do it for your social interest.
You should understand one thing that if you have figured out the reason why you constantly keep changing your goals from the above and decide to follow it then you have got more mature.
This time make sure your goal is achieved.
There are many other ways to measure your activity towards your goal. Like the S.M.A.R.T Technique,which is also a great guide to pursue your goals.
You may give a read to my other article I have written about a more subtle approach towards setting goals.
