It’s possible that one, if not both of these two may hold you back from achieving your goals this year. The terrible two of goal setting are fear and poor planning.

If traditional planning has left you overwhelmed and short of success in the past, then I’m glad you’re here. Know that it’s not your fault. You’ve been missing one of the most important parts of goal setting. And that often fuels our fear and doesn’t help us plan properly so we have the best chance of achieving our goals.

You can use these three simple questions I’m sharing with you today to overcome the terrible two. Simply add these questions to your favourite planning process. And if you’ve already begun, you can also use them after you’ve started working on your goals to make sure you set yourself up for success.

The terrible two

We can be afraid of success just as much as failure.

It doesn’t matter which side of the coin you’re facing, fear can make you feel like you’re a deer stuck in the headlights. Not sure which way to turn. But more than likely it’ll be in the opposite direction of what you need to do to achieve your goal.

Fear makes you freeze + seize up despite your best intentions.

Inadequate planning can be just the same. It can keep you stuck + overwhelmed and we find ourselves procrastinating and wasting precious time.

One leads into the other, leaving you wondering which came first. Planning with traditional goal setting methods can be a bit like the ol’ chicken and the egg puzzle. And that’s because many traditional methods leave out the most important part of goal setting.

I found the missing piece of traditional goal setting in the most unexpected way.

An unlikely teacher

When we found out we were expecting our first baby, we read books + took some classes. The aim was to help us create a birthing plan.

And this was back before I really got into goal setting and making plans. The most we’d do back then was write down a bunch of goals we wanted to achieve in different areas of our life at the start of a new year. Some goals achieved, some we didn’t.

While other goals may or may not happen by a certain date, babies come whether you’re ready or not. I’m sure that phrase originated with having babies not playing hide and seek 😉

This is definitely one of those times you want to be prepared. The quality of our plan would determine our experience. Not having a plan that allowed for the unexpected and what could go wrong would have left us ill prepared in the moment.

So our birthing plan included information about how we wanted to give birth, what our preferences were if things didn’t go to plan, and what we were firm against.

To ensure I had the right mindset and beliefs I limited my exposure to the negative. I didn’t want to feed fear by listening to other peoples’ well meaning stories.

Seizing up from fear is the last thing your body needs when it needs to be relaxed during birth. Your muscles have a great deal of work to do. And having tense muscles is like being a deer stuck in the headlights.

Instead I focused my attention on learning what I needed to grow my faith + knowledge for what was ahead. And thankfully I can say that things went well. I was super blessed to have a dear friend coaching me through the contractions. And I know that the work I did ahead of time to prepare myself put me in a good place mentally for her coaching.

The missing piece

Not planning for the unexpected is the missing piece in traditional planning.

Often we’re so focused on what we need to do to achieve our goals that we miss planning for what can get us off track. And when we haven’t planned for the unexpected we’re more likely to fear failure + success.

You can dispel much of this fear with better planning and of course, praying. God said if we lack wisdom, we just have to ask for it.

The missing piece of goal setting is simply about seeking wisdom so we are prepared to overcome any challenges that we may face. And it also allows us to get a realistic view of what it will take, what could actually happen, as well as what probably won’t happen so there’s no need to fear that stuff.

Get set for success

You can plan for the unexpected by asking yourself three simple questions.

you can set yourself up for success

Question 1 : What could stop you?

First write a list of the things that may go wrong or get in the way of you achieving your goal. Write them all down, even if they seem unlikely. You want to dispel any fear or things that could get you off track.

Get all your fears and concerns down on paper.

Question 2 : How can I overcome them?

Then make a list of what you can do to prevent and/or overcome the challenges. The solutions you come up with here will help you dispel unnecessary fear. And it helps you break down your goal into smaller bite size chunks that limit the possibility of failure.

By asking yourself this important question you’ll have a clearer picture of what you need to do to achieve your goal.

Question 3 : Is it worth it?

Finally, ask yourself what’s the cost if you don’t take action on the goal.

Luke 14:28 talks about the considering the cost before you begin work. Will you have enough support and resources to complete the goal? But I want you to also think about the cost if you don’t take action.

Think about the impact taking action on your goal would have in the different areas of your life. Run it through your role and focus categories. Mine are : faith, health, wealth, family, home, social, earn and learn.

How will your action or inaction affect these areas of your life?

Success comes when you #takeAction

Collect : grab your note book, pen and your favourite playlist and answer these three questions

Reflect : think about the goals you want to set and decide if they are worth it


Connect : make a plan that supports you and sets you up for success!

Traditional planning methods are often missing the most important part of goal setting. Ask these three simple questions as part of your favourite goal setting process to make sure you set successful goals this year, because it’s time to flourish in business + life!