Asking yourself the right goal-setting questions will help you set the foundation for success. Instead of mindlessly writing down things that would be cool to achieve in the future, you need to dig deeper and set meaningful goals the right way.
Using the goal-setting questions I’m sharing with you today will also help you prepare for the possible obstacles. You will learn how much do you actually want to achieve your goal and what are you willing to sacrifice in order to accomplish it.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
Goal-setting questions to create commitment:
#1 On a scale from 1 to 10, how committed are you to take action?
One of the questions that I ask my life coaching clients on our weekly sessions is – on a scale from 1 to 10, how committed are you to take action on your goal this week?
We assume that our commitment level would be 10. I mean, it’s the goal we want to achieve so, obviously, we’re 100% committed.
The truth is when we start thinking about all the things we have to do to get to where we want, the number decreases.
Yes, you want to lose weight and it’s so meaningful to you and you’re willing to do whatever it takes.
But, when you realize that you’ll need to cut your portions in half, start waking up earlier to do a workout, and start setting reminders on your phone to drink more water throughout the day… Suddenly, your excitement level drops. Significantly.
Read next:
3 Ways to Stay Committed to Achieve Your Goal
#2 What needs to happen in order for your commitment level to get a step higher?
Let’s say that you want to be an actress and there’s an audition on Tuesday at 10 am. That audition is the action step that is going to help you achieve your goal. Therefore, you need to show up in spite of your worries and you need to go to that audition.
When our commitment level is lower than 10, it might be because our fears or our limiting beliefs are holding us back.
It can sound something like, ‘’There are going to be so many people and I’m worried that they won’t even choose me. Why would I bother showing up? Why would I bother spending two hours waiting in line, driving to the audition, and making a fool of myself if they’re not going to choose me?’’
Then, when I ask my clients what needs to happen in order for them to go from a lower number to a higher one, they realize that they need to stop focusing on the fears and limitations, i. e. excuses.
When you’re creating commitment around your goal, ask yourself what needs to happen in order for you to be more committed to actually showing up and taking action.
This is one of the most powerful goal-setting questions because it helps you realize who you need to be and what you need to do in order to show up, take action, and ultimately achieve your goal.
If you often find yourself setting goals with all the excitement but when the time comes to take action, you procrastinate and you’re just not in the mood, then this question is for you.
Goal-setting questions for creating an action plan:
#3 What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goal?
Does this scenario sound familiar?
For instance, you set a goal to lose weight. Your action step is to go to the gym three times a week at 7 am. Then what happens is that maybe one of those days is Saturday, and it’s 6 am, and you need to get ready for the gym. You need to drive there and you’re just snoozing your alarm thinking to yourself:
‘’Oh my God, this is my day off. I really can not be bothered going to the gym today. I’m just going to skip today. This is my day. And this action plan that I came up with is just so strict and I really need a day off. Alright. I’ll skip today and I’ll come back on Monday.’’
However, what happens is that you’re just going easy on yourself for one day, and then you skip another, and then another, and then you lose all the momentum that you’ve built.
Then you fall off track completely and it’s so hard to get back on track. Finally, when you do get back on track for a few days or a few weeks, the same thing happens all over again.
You do it for a while, and then you just take a break. At first, it feels good to be free without a strict action plan, but then you feel bad about yourself and you feel guilty for not following through with your plans.
So in order to avoid that, another one of the goal-setting questions to ask yourself is – what are you willing to sacrifice?
When you ask yourself this question at the beginning, then you allow yourself to make smarter decisions to stay on track.
Asking this question is going to help you figure out what your most common short-term pleasures are so that you can avoid prioritizing them.
Maybe for you, it’s watching Netflix late at night in order to achieve your goal of waking up at 5 am every day.
Maybe you’re willing to sacrifice buying coffee every day at Starbucks in order to achieve your goal of saving up for a trip that you want to go to.
The answer to this goal-setting question can look like a list of things that you are willing to sacrifice in order to prioritize your goal.
Oftentimes it’s just those short-term pleasures (maybe getting a pizza here and there or drinking alcohol) that you need to be willing to sacrifice in order to stay on track and achieve your goal.
Read next:
3 Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Take Action
#4 What are you willing to do to achieve your goal?
The last one of today’s goal-setting questions is – what are you willing to do to achieve your goal?
For example, when I started building my online business, one of the things that I was willing to do was to pay more than $2,000 per month to work with a business coach to help me grow my business.
I knew that what I was doing at a time wasn’t really serving me. I was doing something wrong because, obviously, if I wasn’t doing something wrong, then I would’ve achieved my goal at a time, but I didn’t.
That was a clear indication for me that I needed help. In order to achieve my goal of having a successful business, I was willing to pay more than $2,000 per month for four months to work with a business coach.
I was willing to invest my money, time, and energy in order to reach my goal.
Another example, my whole life I was afraid of heights. Afraid of flying.
That fear was so strong that I traveled to Paris, Romania, Netherlands, etc. – all by bus. I even rejected free flights when they were offered to me. I always chose buses.
However, a few years ago, I realized that I wanted to travel the world. I wanted to go to Australia (among other places) and if you want to go from Europe to Australia, you can’t really drive on a bus to get there.
In order for me to achieve those goals, I needed to sacrifice my fear of flying. I needed to overcome that fear because I wanted to travel further. Ultimately, I booked my first flight in Croatia to overcome my fear of flying.
I loved it so much that I booked another flight to Rome a couple of months after that and now I absolutely love flying.
And that’s the thing – if you want to achieve your goal, you need to be willing to get uncomfortable. That’s one of the main things that is going to determine whether you’re going to succeed or not.
If you’re not willing to do new things, if you’re not willing to sacrifice some short-term pleasures, then it is going to be hard for you to follow up with your plans.
You cannot achieve your goal with your current behavior because otherwise, you would have already achieved it. So it’s obvious that you need to change your mindset and behavior in order to see a new result.
And there is actually a quote that says, ‘’What got you here will not get you there’’
Your current situation and where you’re currently at in life is a result of past behaviors, past choices, and your mindset.
However, in order for you to achieve your goal and to get a new result, you need to change your behavior and make new choices.
Remember that you cannot achieve your goal with your current behavior. Something needs to change. You need to be willing to get uncomfortable and do what’s best for you in order to accomplish your goal.
If you want help achieving your goals and staying on track, download my free workbook to get back on track in 5 steps.
Comment below – which one of these goal-setting questions is your favorite? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until the next time,
Ivana
Great post! I had never thought about it before but certainly true, “what got you here will not get you there. So true !
Great post! Sacrifice is probably the question everyone asks because it’s the biggest challenge for people. Keep motivating people to push forward with their goals.
I agree with you – focusing on fears only limits us.
Very good tips, especially under the 4th question! Very inspiring and motivating!
Yes! It’s so important to ask yourself questions like these!
Makes sense. Commitment and sacrifice. are the key.