Not all goals are created equally. Some of them require minimal effort to complete while others are genuinely difficult.
But one thing that’s important to know about goals is that difficulty is subjective. What might be a simple task for one person can be daunting and challenging for another.
For example, look at the goal of working out on a daily basis. For some people, this isn’t much of an issue if they're used to spending time at the gym on a daily basis.
But those that spend a lot of time indoors living a typical sedentary lifestyle will find this harder.
That’s his choice of course, but trying to get him to go to the gym can prove tougher and would require more persuasion compared to myself.
Regardless of opinion though, here are 3 types of goals that are difficult to complete.
1. Goals That Make You Skill Up
Stemming from the example above, a goal that requires you to either acquire a new habit/skill or to improve an existing one is tough. Consider the mental fortitude required to develop that habit or skill.
It sounds simple on paper. But people have written thousands of articles on the subject. Building a habit requires you to build systems and refine new skills.
Many self-improvement gurus talk about how easy all that is but most of these gurus are sitting on privileges. With fewer commitments in the way, they have time to do these sorts of things for example.
Others might only have a few hours to themselves and would prefer doing non-productive things.
This is why it can be so challenging.
2. Goals That You Really Want To Achieve
Another challenging goal to achieve is goals that you really want to complete.
The biggest glaring issue with goals is that no matter how passionate we are about something, there are several goals competing for our attention.
Sure, you may want to lose weight and consider that your main health goal. But what about career goals? What about relationship goals? Mental health goals? Spiritual goals? Money goals?
The list goes on and on as we all have many desires and passions in life. All these things strive to grab our attention and pull us away from one thing and into another.
It creates a balancing act and challenges our mental focus. You need to spend your energy focusing on this one thing while fighting off any and all distractions.
And that’s a tough mental battle these days as companies have trained us to be dopamine addicts. And it’s worked wonders:
Why bother completing a goal when checking your phone gives you the same positive emotions and satisfaction as that?
Because we have to combat that attention and procrastination, knowing how to focus is invaluable. Fortunately, there are ways where you can focus and be productive.
3. Goals You’re Not Sure Where To Even Start
The last type of goal that’s difficult to complete is goals that are so massive, you’re not sure what to do.
This idea stems from Bob Proctor’s three types of goals: A goal, B goal, and C goal.
A type is setting a goal you know how to perform already.
B type is setting a goal you think you can do. It’s something you’re not quite sure what needs to be done, but you feel you have the capacity to get there.
C type is setting a goal you want to achieve. These goals are based on our desires in life and that we’re passionate about.
Another way to look at these types of goals is a matter of knowledge.
Each bigger goal stems from a lack of understanding of what’s really needed to get there. You can get there slowly, but you’ll need to find a method to get there.
This is why these goals are difficult because you’re basing it off of your own current knowledge and what you may or may not know about various methodologies.
You’re placing your trust in someone else that what they’re telling you is the truth. And judging by the self-improvement industry, not everyone is totally honest or is looking out for you.
So How Can You Overcome These Goals And Make Them Easier?
Despite the complexity of these goals, they can become slightly easier in due time. Because everyone’s journey is different, there isn’t a guaranteed one-way method for completing goals.
However, there are particular — and relevant — themes that you can leverage to make things easier.
1. Start Small
First is to start small. Every goal requires habits and every habit has rules. Similar to working out, if you’re looking to achieve results, you need to be exercising properly. If not, you’ll pay the price in the future.
In order to avoid that, begin with the simplest things out there and build up from there.
An extreme example is working out. Before even thinking about what exercises to do, build the habit of going to the gym and working out. Stick with familiar machines like the treadmill or exercise bike first.
2. Chunk Goals
Chunking is an incredible tool to ensure things are progressing. Even the biggest goal can be broken into several small milestones.
Going back to the example above, going to the gym can be a milestone leading up to losing 30,40, 50 pounds. It can be the basis of any kind of health and wellness goal overall.
3. Work Hard
This isn’t always about putting in a bunch of effort into your work. Rather it’s knowing what’s expected of you to achieve that goal and being able to match that expectation.
It’s being prepared for what might be required of you.
For example, university professors stressed how opening a restaurant was a bad business plan to put together.
Why?
Because it’s not as simple as knowing what dishes you want to serve people.
Before you even serve food you need to know where to get the food to begin with. You’ll then need to consider staff to cook the food and others to serve the food. This is on top of a marketing campaign to bring in customers and having a good restaurant layout.
You’re also going to need more than just one item to entice customers so you’ll have to source what ingredients you need for multiple dishes.
Many students don't understand this until several hours into the project and regret their decision.
The takeaway here is: know generally what is expected of you before putting in time and energy into something.
4. Have Others To Support You
Whether they’re cheering on the sidelines or people working side by side, these things make it easier. There is never truly one person completing a goal entirely on their own.
There is always someone at some capacity helping them out.
5. Stop Making Excuses
Procrastination on something can be fine at times but make sure you’re not doing this every time. Keep yourself accountable and don’t buy into your excuses.
Make a promise — if you put something off — that you will do it later.
6. Anticipate Failure
Not all goals are straight line to the finish line. Anticipate you’ll embarrass yourself or experience setbacks or run into problems along the way.
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