The 1 Reason You’re Not Reaching Your Goals and 3 Tips for Moving Forward

If you're not reaching your goals, there's 1 simple reason: you're being lazy. Ahhh, I know I've probably offended most people reading this article already, and I know it stings, but just hear me out. Trust me on this one, and we can overcome what's setting us back and take the next steps toward success in areas we're lacking.

When we hear the word "lazy" we think of some sloth sitting on the couch, eating potato chips and watching endless episodes on Netflix. Surely if you're taking the time to read this article, you're not one of those people. So if you're working your ass off to achieve your goals, why are you not getting there? Consider this: You're overlooking key principles required for true success. I see this most in Creatives, but these issues don't evade any industry or profession.

Here are some of those principles that you may not have taken seriously - the underlying issues holding you back, the things you haven't cared much about before but must master to move forward:

1. Be impeccable with your details. You may be excellent at your particular craft, but not paying close attention to the details in everything else you do is a surefire way to kill your reputation and ruin others' perception of your greatness. Misspellings and grammatical errors in your emails (or flyers, marketing materials, bio, resume, etc), missing details on important (or any) communication assets, improper planning, or lack of general preparation are all indicators that you're not taking the time to ensure your details are in order. Not taking the time = laziness.

2. Be impressively laser-focused. Bouncing around from this to that to this to that is not only totally annoying for the other people involved, but also represents a lack of focus, and we all know it takes great focus to be (and remain) successful at anything we do. Beginning something and following through until it's complete (and awesome) is the only way to reach levels of productivity required for movement upward. We usually "take a break" from one thing to move onto another because we'd rather do that other thing instead. Yes, of course there are tasks we're faced with that remind us we'd rather be doing anything else, but a lack of follow-through just shows we're too lazy to stick with what's at hand. Nobody takes a person seriously when their actions prove themselves to be impetuous.

3. Be consistently remarkable at everything you do. We may master our specific area of expertise, but we easily forget the importance behind everything else that comes along with it, all of which contribute to our success or failure. Some of those things include how we interact with others, our communication skills, organizational skills, promptness, emotional intelligence, integrity, service to others, professionalism, choice of attire, reputation, positivity (aka the ability to remain positive despite issues occurring around us), reactions, and so forth. We tend to assume our talent is enough, but not focusing on mastering everything else I mentioned will ensure we're kept in the same space as the other commonplace, unimpressive, mediocre people in this world. Why don't most of us put forth the time and energy to master those things? We're being lazy.

While you may disagree with me at this point, I encourage you to take a close look at the 3  principles I mentioned above and honestly determine if you've been lazy in your approach. If not, great! You should experience the splendor of success anytime now (and if you don't, think about coming back to this article and reconsidering your viewpoint). If so, knock yourself out of your saunter and start attacking your life like you actually have something to prove, moment by moment, detail by detail, with focus and excellence.

By the way, it's definitely not easy, but it's absolutely worth it.

Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash