Why We Miss Our Goals

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar. You know exactly what you want to do. You have it all figured out. And then somewhere along the line, something happens. You’re not even sure what it was—all you know is the end result: whatever it was you were planning, it didn’t get done.

This problem is incredibly frustrating—and yet it also amazingly common. You are not alone. There are a variety of reasons we struggle to do what we mean to, and also several things you can do to help solve the problem.

Oftentimes, a wide range of issues get lumped together under the label “will power.” But while it may seem descriptive enough at first glance, there are other underlying problems to consider, too. The books “Sidetracked: Why Our Decisions Get Derailed an How We Can Stick to the Plan” by Francesca Gino and “Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work” by Chip and Dan Heath offer a different perspective.

There are some common themes in these books. First, we undermine our decision making by falling victim to confirmation bias. That is, instead of really looking for obstacles to our goals, we pay more attention to anyone or anything telling us that there are no problems. Then, when that very real problem gets in our way after all, we are shocked and surprised that we did not accomplish our goal. These problems might have been easily solved—if we had been more open to seeing them.

Second, we get in trouble when we let emotions play too big of a role. It’s all too easy to let a bad start to the day, some chance encounter or event that has no connection to our goals or business, block our thinking and our effort. Whether the emotions are positive or negative, they can override our logical analysis of an idea or decision.