{"id":12981,"date":"2024-01-16T01:23:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T16:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/?p=12981"},"modified":"2026-02-23T13:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T04:08:29","slug":"goal-setting-with-less-effort-and-more-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/goal-setting-with-less-effort-and-more-impact","title":{"rendered":"Goal Setting With Less Effort And More Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you set goals for yourself in 2024?<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe you have work goals that you\u2019re expected to meet or personal goals, like improving your English, exercising more, passing an exam, decluttering, finding more time for yourself\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past, I used to repeat the same pattern over and over again:<\/span><\/p>\n

I would set my professional and private goals\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026 and then I got frustrated with myself when I didn\u2019t achieve them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does this sound familiar in any way?<\/span><\/p>\n

If so, read on \ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

In the business world, we\u2019re often encouraged to set SMART goals or stretch goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

But here\u2019s what I discovered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They didn\u2019t work for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

And they don\u2019t work for many of my clients.<\/span><\/p>\n

SMART goals and stretch goals can in fact result in a lot of unnecessary effort, disappointment, and squished self-esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, here\u2019s what I found works for a lot of high performers:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/b><\/b>Consider lowering your expectations<\/b><\/h5>\n

I was shocked years ago when I was working with a productivity coach and she said, \u201cAim for average, Helen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whaaaaaaat?!!!<\/span><\/p>\n

But wouldn\u2019t that make me seem lazy? Surely that would mean that I wouldn\u2019t get everything done???<\/span><\/p>\n

It turned out that she was absolutely right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I took the PRESSURE off myself, it was MUCH easier for me to excel and ultimately exceed my expectations!<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, this might not work for everyone. I encourage you to consider and experiment with what works for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Very often, women who join my programs – for example in the <\/span>Women\u2019s Success Essentials<\/b><\/a> experience – set themselves a list of goals at the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

And each goal is quite ambitious, like \u201cStudy English for an hour every day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That may sound great, but I ask them if it\u2019s realistic considering how full their schedule is already!<\/span><\/p>\n

And I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve experienced yourself that some days things just don\u2019t go to plan. Our best intentions can easily go out of the window.<\/span><\/p>\n

So then maybe they say, \u201cOkay, I\u2019m going to study English for an hour 5 days a week.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Great that they\u2019ve reduced the expectation from every day, but an hour each time may be difficult.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, they realize this:<\/span><\/p>\n

You can set a ridiculously easy goal, so that you won\u2019t fail. Then you can always do more!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You can always do more if you have the time and energy to spare.<\/span><\/p>\n

Contrast that with the disheartening feeling of having a goal that you simply don\u2019t have the time and energy to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe in starting by setting yourself up for success by making your goals easier to achieve. Less effort, more impact.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the next stage is to set bigger goals, but with this in mind\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/b><\/b>Be unattached to the outcome<\/b><\/h5>\n

A game changer for me years ago was learning that I could set goals and NOT be attached to the outcome!<\/span><\/p>\n

This means that I do my best to achieve the goal, but if it turns out that I don\u2019t get there, I\u2019m okay with that.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s enough to know that I did my best.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I reflect and learn from the experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have to give myself a hard time if I don\u2019t achieve the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is so important because, as you may have noticed, sometimes things happen that affect your goal and are out of your control.<\/span><\/p>\n

This can especially be the case with work-related goals and an unpredictable economic environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

A while ago, I was watching a popular UK TV program called The Hotel Inspector. In each episode Alex Polizzi, a superstar hotelier and businesswoman (who wears fabulous earrings), helps struggling hotel owners to turn around their businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this particular episode, she worked with two brothers and set ambitious goals to improve their hotel occupancy rates. With Alex\u2019s expert advice and the brothers\u2019 commitment, all was going tremendously well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was in early 2020. And we all know what happened next, right?<\/span><\/p>\n

With the pandemic, the brothers didn\u2019t achieve their occupancy goal. But they quickly changed their strategy to focus on pizza delivery and were able to keep the business going.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was such a FANTASTIC example of not being attached to the outcome and being flexible based on the circumstances.<\/span><\/p>\n

In my view, the best thing about this approach of being unattached to the outcome is that it stops you from wasting your mental and emotional energy due to giving yourself a hard time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can then use that energy in more meaningful and productive ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, as I always say, consider the impact on those around you too – work colleagues, family, and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n

How are they affected if you\u2019re frustrated or upset from being attached to a goal that you can\u2019t achieve?<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, imagine the influence of seeing you going with the flow, learning from the situation, and moving forward with a positive attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, from now, whenever you\u2019re goal setting, keep these 2 tips in mind for less effort and more impact:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Consider lowering your expectations!<\/b><\/li>\n
  2. Be unattached to the outcome<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Missing the Sasuga! Podcast?<\/b><\/p>\n

    You might enjoy Episode 196: <\/span>Do These 3 Things To Achieve Your Goals<\/b><\/a> with special guest Sandra Petreikyte\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Have you set goals for yourself in 2024? Maybe you have work goals that you\u2019re expected to meet or personal goals, like improving your English, exercising more, passing an exam, decluttering, finding more time for yourself\u2026 In the past, I used to repeat the same pattern over and over again: I would set my professional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,55,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-communication","category-personal-development"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12981"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18415,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12981\/revisions\/18415"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasugacommunications.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}