Why People Have No Goals Program By Zig Ziglar

Everyone has individual goals but only about 3% have a well-balanced goals program. An individual goal could be something as simple as getting to work on time or losing ten pounds. It could be a negative goal like getting the next fix or the next drink. A goals program is an entirely different matter. There are four basic reasons people do not have a goals program. Number one is an unrealistic or imagined fear which causes one to believe that his/her efforts will produce failure, so it is “safer” not to try.
Consider this: You could generate genuine fear in a bank teller by covering your face with a handkerchief, putting your hand in your coat pocket, pointing your finger toward the teller and saying, “This is a hold-up.” The fear would be based on the teller’s imagination but the fear would be real. It is this fear, based on false assumptions, which prevents most people from setting realistic but worthwhile goals. Combine that with the fact that many people do not understand that failure is an event and not a person and we have another reason most people don’t have a goals program.

Admittedly, there is danger in many things. There is danger when an airplane leaves the ground, but there is more danger for the plane if you permanently park it because it will deteriorate faster sitting still than it will when flying, which is why it was built. There is danger when you rent a house, because the tenants might not take care of it; but there’s even more danger if you leave the house empty. Houses deteriorate faster when empty than when occupied, which is why they are built. There’s danger in setting goals because you might not reach them, but there’s infinitely more danger in not setting them. Think about it and next week we’ll look at the second reason most people do not have a goals program.

We identified fear as the first reason people don't have a goals program because fear of failure is a real dream-killer. Today we will discuss the second reason, which is a poor self-image. Too many people see themselves as either incapable of or undeserving of doing significant things and accomplishing great or even worthwhile things in their lives. The image or "picture" we have of ourselves dramatically influences our behavior.

As the tenth of twelve children raised by a widowed mother in a small Mississippi town during the Depression, I thought of myself as a little guy (as a child I was small for my age) from a little town who would struggle all of his life. I also saw myself as being mediocre as a student and it wasn't until I was in college, taking a course under a professor who was a friend of the family, that I made a serious effort to excel. I did so because I knew word would get back to both families about my performance. I valued the professor's opinion of me, as well as the opinions of the rest of his family. I spent extra time studying and made an "A" in the subject.