12 Mistakes Driven People Make When Setting Goals

You and I are driven people. Both of us are trying to make it from point A to point B. Though we travel different paths, our goals are largely the same.

We both want to be happy.

Since becoming a professional coach, I've met a lot of people. A photographer in his twenties trying to leave the family business. A single mother hoping to take what she's learned about child care and start her own business and charity. Even a father of three who wants to share is passion for cash cars with the world.

Each of these friends is extremely driven. They spend hours learning new skills so they can be ready when their time comes.

While we make mistakes, deep down, driven people know success doesn't happen overnight. We know we may fail the first time, heck, even maybe the first dozen times.

Driven people know success takes a lot of work. We work every day, taking small steps, to achieve our dreams.

Driven people take help where we can get it, though we often try to do things on our own.

However, even the most driven people make mistakes. We forget the things we know and we get in our own way. After coaching, working with, mentoring and being in mastermind groups with some of the most driven people around, I've noticed, we seem to stumble on the same steps.

If we know what those obstacles are, we can avoid them.

12 Mistakes Even the Most Driven People Make When Setting Goals

• Driven people forget to think like the person they want to become – We get so caught up with what we're doing we forget about who we're becoming. The bigger the dream, the bigger we have to think. However, we sometimes get lost in the details of the moment. We have to stay focused on the goal and remember the process of becoming can be a tough one.

• Driven people forget to prepare for future success – We're good at keeping our head down and focusing on the work. We're not so good at expecting success. We can lock ourselves in a room and work all night, but forget to plan for success. And, sometimes, we even dream too small.

• Driven people don't talk about their products, skills, or talents enough – We undervalue our talents. We mistakenly believe that what comes naturally to us is easy for other people as well. We fall into the trap of devaluing our own skills to the point of irrelevance. We focus so much on try to be unique we don't realize we already are unique. We forget to brag on ourselves and share our gifts with the people around us.

• Driven people isolate themselves – We forget we need other people to help us get where we're going. We lock ourselves in a room or strap ourselves to the desk and get to work, barely coming up for food or air.

• Driven people don't ask for help early enough – When we finally ask for help, the damage has already been done. We get stuck in an “I can do it myself” mindset and wait too long to ask for the help of others. We often fail to recognize our own limitations. We try to do it all and risk burnout. We forget that our biggest resources are often the people we know.

• Driven people forget why they started in first place – We get so caught up in the momentum of what we're doing we get distracted. We've been so focus on the future we forget our past. So focused on building a better tomorrow, we risk losing sight of why get started down this path in the first place.

• Driven people get discouraged – We're so tied to our goals we interpret resistance as a personal attack. It's hard for us to understand why people would disagree with us and even harder to realize people don't view the world the same way we do. We have to remember that questions aren't necessarily disagreement. We have to surround ourselves with other driven people who will encourage us.

• Driven people believe they're not ready – We believe that if we read one more book, go to one more conference, or make one more connection we'll be ready. We misjudge our own talents and skills and discount our ability to step up to the plate when called upon. We don't realize we've been ready for a while now.

• Driven people think they have to be ready before they can launch – We believe that “ready” is something we can achieve. We believe we'll arrive at “ready” someday, that it's just over the next hill or around the next corner. We forget that we'll never arrive at ready and someday never comes. We forget that if we wait for when we're ready, we'll never ship and we'll never launch.

• Driven people get sidetracked – We get sidetracked by too many good ideas. We lose site of the end goal and focus on what needs to be done today. We let the urgent overshadow the important. We get excited in the moment and sometimes toss the plan out the door.

• Driven people don't narrow their focus enough – Because we have so many good ideas, we try to do them all. We think we can be the jack of all trades but forget that that path leads to being a master of none. We have so many talents but very specialties. We want to help everyone but must remember to help where we're at our best.

• Driven people don't jump in with both feet – We have limitless passion and no shortage of fear. We have goals to accomplish but fear failure. We want to make a difference but hold back because we're afraid of being judged. We forget that big accomplishments require big dreams, and need to remember to embrace our uniqueness. We don't want to be wishy-washy but hesitate to go all-in.

Now that you know where the roadblock are you can avoid them. Now that you know you're not the only one who has made these mistakes, you can be encouraged.

If you've found yourself falling into these traps, you're not alone. This list is as much about me and my journey as it is about you and yours. Possibly even more.

When you find yourself slipping, and you will, do what you know to do.

Think about the future but don't lose sight of where you came from. Prepare for the success that's coming your way; it will get here eventually. Focus on your talents and don't be afraid to share your skills with people who need to hear about them.

Don't stay in your head or in your office; surround yourself with like-minded people. Ask for help early and often; think collaboration instead of competition.

Remember why you set out on this adventure in the first place and don't get discouraged when your pack gets heavy or your pants get dirty. Believe you're stronger than you think you are and go forward with the confidence that you're more ready than you realize.

Get your product, your course, your podcast or your ebook out the door. Launch.

Stay focused. See one thing through to completion. Go all in.

Stay driven!

 

Question: What drives you? What keeps you going?