Do you set goals?
More importantly—do you achieve them?
In workshops over the past 30 years, I’ve seen a surprising trend: fewer than 20% of people set goals, and of those, fewer than 20% achieve them. Even if we double those numbers, the majority of people either don’t set goals at all or fail to see them through.
It’s a sobering statistic—and it raises a critical question: is the reason people stop setting goals simply because they’ve failed too many times in the past?
Why Goal Setting Fails
Many people believe setting a goal is as simple as writing it down and committing to it. But real, lasting success demands more.
To be effective, goals must be aligned with your beliefs, habits, and identity. Without this, even the best intentions can be sabotaged by your unconscious mind.
“The biggest impediment to achieving your goals is a lack of integration and alignment with your unconscious.”
The Missing Step: Goal Integration Methods
This is where goal integration methods come in. In my book Listening – A Guide to Building Deeper Connections, I introduce the Integrated Goals Checklist—a tool that combines the S.M.A.R.T. framework with my Integrated Values Iceberg® model.
This powerful approach ensures you don’t just set a goal—you integrate personal goals into the deeper parts of your mindset so your actions, habits, and identity work together to achieve them.
A Real-World Example
Imagine you grew up in a financially struggling family, developing a lifelong habit of thriftiness. You attend a financial planning seminar, and a respected guru tells you to set a target for your retirement savings.
You set the goal.
But deep down, your unconscious doesn’t believe you can achieve it.
The result? Self-sabotage.
This is a classic case where goal alignment strategies could have made all the difference. By addressing underlying beliefs, you can stop your unconscious from working against you.
How to Align Goals and Actions
The Integrated Goals Checklist guides you through holistic goal management so you can align goals and actions from the very start. It prompts you to define:
The outcome you truly value most
Clear measures of success
A realistic timeline
The behaviours you’ll need to adopt
Beliefs that may conflict with your goal—and how to shift them
The person you need to become to achieve it
Your deeper “why”—why this goal truly matters to you
This is not a quick exercise—but if the goal matters, it’s worth every moment.
The Power of Goal Integration
When you integrate your goals into your unconscious mind, you create unstoppable momentum. Your decisions, actions, and identity begin to naturally work toward your desired outcome—without the constant push of willpower.
That’s the power of goal integration.
Related Resources
- 📖 Book: Listening – A Guide to Building Deeper Connections – available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.
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