Goal Setting That Works: Shift Your Narrative, Achieve More
Imagine looking back at the end of the year, already feeling grateful for the success you’ve created.
What if you could embody that feeling now, before you even achieved it?
Setting goals can sometimes feel arduous or even pointless. Achieving them isn’t always a smooth ride, and sometimes, we fail—but with the right strategy, success can become inevitable.
In this month’s post:
Why-Power Over Willpower – A strong “why” sustains motivation better than fleeting willpower.
Narrative Goal-Setting – Rewrite goals as a story to boost belief and commitment.
Emotion Fuels Success – Visualizing success rewires the brain for confidence and motivation.
Small Actions Drive Change – Tiny, consistent behaviours create lasting progress.
Shape Your Year – Decide now if it will be a year of growth or struggle.
(6-minute read!)
By February, you might have fallen from the trajectory you set for yourself at the beginning of the year. I call this the New Year’s Resolution Fail.
If you have, you’re not alone.
Research shows that most New Year’s resolutions don’t make it past January 19th, now known as “quitters day,” according to a Strava study of over 800 million user activities. The high failure rate is attributed to setting overly ambitious goals without a clear plan of how to achieve them, leading to a heavy reliance on willpower.
So, how do we make our goals for 2025 last well beyond January 19th?
A deeper “why” behind your goal is essential for maintaining new behaviours. Focusing on small, actionable steps that are anchored in a strong underlying motivation can help in developing sustainable habits.
The types of goals we set are often overly objective and arbitrary measures. For example, you may want to lose ten pounds, exercise three times per week, get more sleep, drink more water, eat healthier, read more, onboard five more clients each quarter, go to one networking event per month, save more money, spend more quality time with friends and family, spend less time on social media, or travel to one new place this year.
These goals all sound good, but value alignment and small actions matter more than objectives or metrics.
Why-power vs. Willpower
We must know why we are working toward that outcome because your “why-power” will always beat your willpower. Willpower fluctuates—it’s intense in the moment but wanes over time. Why-power becomes your fuel—a deeply personal reason that fosters motivation and discipline.
For instance, rather than saying, “I want to lose ten pounds,” you can ask: Why do I want to lose weight? Is it about feeling more energetic? Boosting confidence? Living longer for your kids or setting a good example?
Your “why-power” sustains when willpower fades.
We also often miss the part where we must focus on the behavioural changes required to achieve our “why.”
For example, if you want to show up as a better leader at work, your ability to do so might be linked to your energy (not a skill deficit). So, something as simple as going to bed earlier or exercising in the morning may be keys to unlocking the energetic motivation required for strong leadership.
Knowing your “why” is essential because it is more effective to start taking steps toward a compelling future rather than attempting to move away from discomfort. Sometimes, small changes in behaviour are the key to unlocking that future.
Understanding how we need to change to achieve a goal is one thing. Combatting limiting beliefs that sabotage progress before we’ve even started is another. That’s where your narrative comes into play.
Narrative Goal Setting Works
Can you start to believe in your ability to achieve your desired outcomes now? Absolutely.
You can rescript your goal-setting narrative into a believable story that you are simply yet to enact. Instead of solely setting goals that adhere to the widely accepted specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) format, construct a story you can see yourself following through on. Then, consider how it will feel when you accomplish the goal.
If it’s something like running a marathon–an ambitious goal I set last year–a traditional goal might look like this: “I will run a marathon this year.”
A Narrative approach might look like this: “I am going to conquer a marathon this year, building mental and physical resilience with each run. Crossing the finish line will feel incredible. It’s an indication of what I’m capable of when I set my mind to something important!”
You might even consider what the training will be like. How will it feel when you complete your peak training week and push your body as hard as you ever have? The reward is in the training, and you’ll grow mentally and physically resilient in the process. On race day, you would feel race-ready with excitement overriding the obligatory nerves you experience on the start line. When you cross that finish line, imagine how gratifying it will feel.
You can start to feel steadfast now, knowing that you have it within yourself to get there, with a strong belief in your ability to enact that narrative.
Think of goal setting as a story enables physiological and psychological systems.
Emotions and Feelings:
By visualizing how it will feel when you succeed, you engage your body with complex neurochemistry that permits healthier physiology and psychology. Pre-emptively experiencing dopamine production is linked to increased motivation and self-confidence.
A narrative visualization activates the same neural pathways as physical action, reinforcing your confidence in your ability. By experiencing your success in advance, you’re already wiring your brain for achievement and healthier thinking.
Thinking and Believing:
After experiencing what success will feel like, you’re better prepared to construct cognitions and authentic beliefs that support you in achieving your goal. Your narrative influences the types of thoughts you experience when pursuing the goal, enhancing your ability to think positively.
You may even start to believe success is inevitable.
Going Deeper…
Could you try feeling grateful for the accomplishments you’ll achieve by the end of 2025 now? What happens when you do?
By feeling grateful for your future success now, you’re not just wishing for it–you’re stepping into the identity of someone who achieves it. Gratitude primes you to receive the outcomes you most desire.
A Quote:
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.”
- Andrew Carnegie
A Thought:
Never give up on a dream because of the time or effort it will take to achieve it. The time will pass anyway, so you should work towards a future that lights your soul on fire!
What kind of year will it be?
There’s another consideration I haven’t mentioned. You can decide now what type of year it will be. Is it a learning and experimentation year or a growth and thriving year? Will it be a year of struggle?
While we don’t plan for pain, acknowledging it and mentally preparing can help. The pain or discomfort we experience during growth is mandatory, but struggling is optional. In anticipation of pain, we can preemptively release ourselves from the prison of our minds, allowing ourselves to accept and endure difficulties as an essential part of growth. The “pain” is imminent, but struggling during the effort and strain process is up to you.
Setting a healthy expectation for your narrative constitutes healthy mental prep work.
Luckily, gratitude endures both pain and suffering. It can serve as your catalyst for an authentic and compelling narrative while giving you a foundation of resilience to face challenges with genuine optimism, a strong belief in yourself, and the identity of someone capable of achieving your dreams.
I hope you enjoyed this month's post! Please share this with the ambitious, goal-oriented people in your lives.
If crafting a new narrative for your year (and beyond) resonates, don’t hesitate to reach out and book a call with me. And please grab a copy of Never Part of The Plan if you haven’t already. :)
With gratitude,
Mike Shaw
References:
https://apnews.com/article/new-year-resolutions-goals-tips-76ef800850455462ea2ff14323044d4c
https://www.ft.com/content/f16cff7e-8798-4593-9622-eec9223917ff?utm
https://www.6seconds.org/2018/01/15/envisioning-way-success-incredible-power-mental-practice/?utm
