It’s that time of the year, the new year starts and almost everyone wants to reset and start fresh and develop goals for the next year. As a life coach, this is what I mainly do, set goals set up by clients to overcome current obstacles and challenges they are experiencing. However, I’ve learned over the years, these are the most common mistakes people often make that make it difficult to keep their goals.

The most common mistakes and how to avoid them. 

1. Goals are not practical, this is very common unfortunately, most of my clients set goals that are not fitting to their circumstances and situation. Setting up unrealistic goals without having awareness of your current situation will cause frustration and instant regression.

For example – wanting to lose weight and setting a goal to go to the gym every day.

Now, this may seem like a practical goal but let’s examine the unique situation of this mom. The client is a single mom, that works full-time and has lack of help with childcare. This goal will not be feasible based on her circumstances. However, a new goal may sound like this:

New goal – I want to lose weight and will work out at home on the weekdays and go to the gym on the weekends.

Now, this goal is more fitting for this mom, a workout at home through workout apps, and videos and on the weekends arrange childcare in advance to go to the gym.

2. Goals are not set in a multi-step process, but rather as one big step.

Let me elaborate on this, most clients (in my case usually moms) set a goal that requires many steps to achieve and they expect it to happen in one step. Goals don’t work like that, you always have to ask, what steps do I need to take to get to that goal?

Example - Reducing intake of junk food for 2023.

Now, this is a great example, but let’s dig deep. If you have spent a large part of your life eating junk food, it’s going to take longer to not consume it daily as it’s become a part of your lifestyle. This will require tapering and practically speaking more steps to achieve.

New goal – Can only eat junk food on weekends only, start substituting junk food with healthier alternatives.

This is a more realistic approach for many reasons, if you set a day when you're allowed to have junk food, your body won’t be deprived. To facilitate less consumption, substituting with healthier alternatives will be a great way to fill your calories in a healthier way.

3. No motivation to seek change, this is important, ask yourself why you are setting this goal, is it for yourself? societal pressure? your family? The motivation behind the goals is significant, if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons or being forced to do it, it will not facilitate ANY change even by the best professionals. Personal motivation is key to wanting to seek change in our behavior and lifestyle.

I hope this article helps and sheds light on how to make goals that are practical, detailed, and motivational. Let this new year, allow you to start fresh, reset and erase bad habits and start with healthier goals, cheers!