Mommy Mojo: S-T-R-E-T-C-H Goals – Why the Secret to Goal-Setting Success is Making Them Irresistible

There’s a ton of information out there on setting and achieving goals. Make them SMART, break them down into small doable steps, create a vision board, etc.

But here’s the thing about goals, if they are not utterly irresistible to me, I don’t care how SMART they are or how pretty my vision board is, I’m not going to do them.

So, how do we create and achieve these utterly irresistible goals?

It starts with my Irresistible Equation (Clarity + Confidence + Courage = Payoff):

Clarity

Get deep, connected clarity on your goal. I was working with a client once who kept setting a goal to lose 15 pounds. And no matter what she did, she kept losing her way. She’d go off her diet, she’d “forget” to go to the gym, and she’d fall into a downward spiral that felt terrible.

After doing some clarity work, we discovered something very interesting. Losing 15 pounds wasn’t HER goal. It was her mother’s goal for her. “You really need to lose about 15 pounds.” No wonder she kept sabotaging her efforts!

So, we re-framed the goal as something that deeply, clearly resonated with her: Have more energy to play with my kids and feel great in my clothes. Guess what? Suddenly going to gym and sticking with her eating plan became irresistible to her because the payoff was so delicious to her.

Goal setting tip #1 – Get deeply clear on exactly what your goal is.

Confidence

Once that crystal-clear clarity is in place, feeling confident about choices and decisions becomes so much easier.

Using the example above, my client was often faced with options that would move her away from her goal (in the form of awesome options)! Go shopping with friends instead of going to the gym. Eat just one piece of that delicious birthday cake instead of sticking with her eating plan.

By checking in with her goal (usually just one look at her children would do the trick), she was able to confidently say “No” to the distraction and “Yes” to the thing that would lead her to her ultimate destination.

Courage

The storms will come. That’s just part of the journey. And those are the times we have to dig down deep and hold the tiller steady until we reach calmer waters.

My client reached a plateau she couldn’t seem to get passed. And other people noticed. And commented. A side note on goal-setting an achievement: there will ALWAYS be people who are invested in seeing you fail. It sucks. But there it is.

And so she faced a choice. She could 1) Agree with the voice in her head and the voices of some people around her telling her she was failing or 2) Dig down deep, re-connect with her clarity, tap into that place where true courage lives and decide to prove them all wrong.

Choosing the first option was easy. And most people, whether they will admit it or not, go for option one when the going gets tough. They will frame it all kinds of ways to justify giving up. But in the end, that’s what it is – giving up.

Choosing option two is what separates champions from the also-rans. There’s just no other way to say it. It requires boldly stepping out, doing something really scary, and believing you can do something when the storm is blurring your vision.

My client chose option two, even though it meant flying in the face of relationships that meant a great deal to her. She kept at it. And she kept at it. And she kept at it. (That’s really all that courage is – dogged persistence.) Because she realized that it was about more than having energy and feeling great in her clothes. It was about belief in herself.

And guess what? She got where she wanted to go. Not in her original timeframe. Not with a huge crowd cheering her on. But she got there. And that changed everything.

So if you are having trouble reaching your goals, try making them Irresistible with Clarity, Confidence and Courage. Don’t hesitate on this (hesitation is also a hallmark of the Also-Ran’s.) It can make all the difference.

And, if you want more insights and strategies on applying the Irresistible Business Equation to where you are right now this minute, learn how to Create an Irresistible Presence!