I am a goal-setter. I write that with a bit of hesitancy because it makes me sound like I am a type-A, go-getter who strives every day to “crush it”. I am not this person. I am someone who utilizes goals as a way to keep me on task and to ensure my life is flowing in a direction that is in line with my desires. In other words, they keep me from getting distracted and pulled off track.

Some of my targets I hit without struggle, others I miss on a regular basis, and some slip my mind all together. For example, my goal to work out six days a week is met almost without thinking, but a similar intention to write every day births a myriad of creative reasons why I cannot reach this target, causing me to fall short and my intention to get out more with friends is more often than not, wholly forgotten.

Why is this? The question plagued me for a number of years, and it wasn’t until I began my education to become a coach that I understood. Although achieving goals is often attributed to willpower or discipline, the truth is, in order to reach a goal, I needed to believe that I could accomplish it. It was this belief that built the foundation of a mindset which supported me in my endeavors.

But I quickly discovered that altering my mindset relative to achieving my goals was simple in concept, but difficult in application.

Changing one’s mindset is simply about identifying thought patterns that are sapping passion and causing us to fall short of our goals, and shifting them to ones that drive us towards them. But the brain, in all its beautiful efficiency, resists change. Having wired itself to habitually respond to repeated stimuli, it created neural pathways intended to make the processing of frequent thoughts and actions quicker and more efficient. Once set, information runs along these pathways, driving our decisions and actions. What we think is an in-the-moment, independent decision is actually a habituated mindset response.

Here are habituated mindsets that do not support goal achieving:

• Fixed frame of mind: “I cannot learn new things; I am not good at that; I am not that person”
• Perfectionism: “I am uncomfortable doing anything that I cannot do well”
• All or nothing thinking: “I fell short of my goal this week, I might as well give up completely”
• Aversion to failure: “I am uncomfortable when things do not go as I planned”
• Expecting change to come quickly: “I should be further along by now”

How to develop a growth mindset that supports your goals

Get Clear – Having clarity on why you have set this goal for yourself is a critical, foundational component. For each of your goals, ask yourself:

• Is this goal something I still want?
• What do I gain by achieving this goal?
• What do I lose by not achieving this goal?

Often times you have challenges reaching goals that you have set for yourself because they no longer resonate with you. Or you are not clear about why you are striving for it.   

Assess Your Belief  – In order to achieve your goals, you need to believe that you can achieve them. For each of your goal, ask yourself:

•  On a scale of one-to-five, what is my belief that I can reach my target?
  (One = I have zero belief | five = I have ultimate belief)

If your confidence is anything less than four, your mindset relative to this goal is not one that will support the habits needed to achieve what you set out to do. Without a foundation of belief, your willpower will falter. Essentially, you are setting yourself up for degrees of failure based on how likely you think you can achieve your goal.

Set Step Goals – Another tool to support you in developing a goal-achieving mindset is to build a foundation with smaller step goals that move you towards your larger one.

• Divide large goals into smaller ones that align with your beliefs.

For example, if you are someone who has repeatedly tried to establish a five-day-a-week exercise routine and fallen short each time, chances are your belief that you can achieve and stick to this goal is very low. To shift your belief, build the exercise habit slowly. Commit to a goal that aligns with your current belief, even if it is just once a week.  Setting yourself up for success by creating small habits on the way to your bigger goal will build your belief that you can succeed and this will gradually shift your mindset.

Listen to your self-talk – All of your beliefs around whether you can or cannot achieve your goal are created and fed by your inner dialog. Listen for statements such as:

• I am not ready
• I don’t have what it takes to be successful; I am not good enough 
• I always fail, so why try
• I do not have the stamina to see this through
• If I make mistakes, I am a failure

These statements and a myriad of others like them, run through your brain on a constant basis. In fact, it is estimated that an average of 60,000 thoughts flit through your brain daily. As pointed out earlier, the majority are habitual responses to repeated stimuli created by your mindset and run just below the surface of your consciousness. What I didn’t mention is that the majority of these responses are driven by the fight, flight or freeze portion of your brain called the amygdala. Originally formed to keep our distant ancestors safe from saber tooth lions and other stone-age dangers, it remains the gatekeeper of our safety in a world where threats come in the form of thoughts. In light of this, it is easy to understand how striving for a goal can trigger your brain to view the anxiety, fear and discomfort associated with the process as a potential danger and the set-backs, rejection, or personal judgment as tangible threats to your safety.

A few truths to keep in mind

• Progress is not a straight line
• At some point you will find yourself off track
• A growth-oriented mindset feeds the flexibility needed to get back on track

A major component to developing a goal-achieving mindset is embracing the truth that in the progress towards your goals you will encounter obstacles and advancement will come in fits and starts. Framing difficulties and the inevitable peaks and valleys as part of the process rather than road blocks intent on derailing you, is key.

The bottom line is, to reach your goals, you need a mindset that supports progress, not perfection.

If you’re ready to shift the way you think about your goals—and yourself—start with this simple but powerful tool.

Download a FREE Growth Mindset Worksheet
This worksheet will guide you to:

• Clarify the “why” behind your goals
• Assess the beliefs shaping your progress
• Identify mindset patterns that might be working against you
• Create small, belief-building step goals that lead to lasting change

And if you’re ready for real, lasting change with support, not struggle—let’s talk.
Book a FREE introductory call and let’s explore what’s possible when your mindset works with you, not against you.