Parnell: Goal Setting: The Courage to Create Momentum

It takes an enormous amount of thrust for a rocket to overcome our planet’s gravitational pull. We have to have the courage to disrupt what is to create the potential for what could be. The amazing thing about momentum is that once we have it, it’s easier to maintain.
This is where goalsetting becomes powerful—not as a motivational exercise, but as a catalyst for transformation.

Why We Set Small Goals (and Why We Shouldn’t)

Newton’s first law teaches that an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an external force. Most people never apply that force. We choose small goals because they feel safe. They’re achievable. They don’t stretch us to the point where failure is possible.
But here’s an unconventional truth: Setting small goals is often a strategy to avoid failure. We allow the fear of falling short to dictate the size of our ambition. We convince ourselves that modest means manageable, and manageable means less risk. But fear doesn’t make us a failure, and losing doesn’t make us a loser. These actions don’t become our identities. 
The difference between those who grow and those who stay stuck is mindset. A fixed mindset says, “If I fail, I am a failure.” A growth mindset says, “If I fail, I learn.” When setting goals, we have to anticipate the possibility of failure on the road to success. The good news, however, is that there are actionable steps we can take to get ahead of what’s to come.

Aligning People to a Vision

High-performing individuals and teams don’t rally around tasks; they rally around vision. But vision alone isn’t enough. We must begin with the end in mind, a habit popularized by Stephen Covey in his book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” The idea is to clearly identify where we want to go, and then align our beliefs, actions, and systems to get there.
A Forbes study revealed just how powerful this process can be:

• We are 42% more likely to achieve our goals simply by writing them down.
• That number jumps to 64% when we write them down and create an action plan.
• And we become 76% more likely to succeed when we write them down, create a plan, share them with peers, and track our progress weekly.

The lesson? Vision gives direction. Goals create clarity. Systems create momentum. And accountability sustains it.

Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome

Having a vision is essential, but success doesn’t come from obsessing over the outcome. It comes from two specific areas of focus:

1. What actions will you take to achieve the outcome?
   These are the proactive, forward-moving behaviors that generate progress.
2. What actions will you take when unplanned circumstances get in the way?
   This is where most goals fall apart; not from the goal itself, but from the lack of a strategy when life inevitably interrupts.

This is why reverse engineering goals are crucial. Start with the finish line, then work backwards to identify the steps, habits, and milestones required to get there. But habits alone aren’t the full picture. Habits are not a lifestyle to be lived; they are a finish line to be crossed … each and every day. They stack, compound, and eventually create identity-level change.

And when habits break down, go deeper. The problem is rarely the behavior. It’s often the belief behind the behavior. Beliefs fuel purpose, and purpose fuels consistency.

The Blueprint: 5 Keys to Set Goals That Create Momentum

1. Be specific. Vague goals produce vague results. If we’re trying to level up, physically, we’re not going to simply say: “I want to be more fit.” We’re going to say: “I want to weigh 160 pounds, have 12% body fat, and run 4 miles in 30 minutes.”
2. Identify the catalyst. What is the one action that would immediately move you closer to your goal? Not five things. One thing. When we focus on just one behavior change, and only one, we have an 85% success rate in achieving that behavior change. When we attempt to change two behaviors at the same time, that 85% drops all the way down to 40%, and if we attempt to change three behaviors at the exact same time, our success rate drops all the way down to 5%.
   
   That’s where traction starts.
3. Identify the constraint. Failure to plan is planning to fail.
   
   Ask yourself:
   
   ●    What obstacles must be removed?
   ●    What people, environments, or behaviors are holding me back?
   ●    How much time is wasted on scrolling, entertainment, or avoidance?
   
   Sometimes the fastest path to growth is cutting the anchors.
4. Study success. Success leaves footprints. Find someone who has done what you want to do and model their behaviors. Repetition breeds retention. You can’t practice once and expect to perform at game speed. Even football players only experience 5–7 minutes of true playing time but consider how many hours of practice they put in week after week.
5. Measure what matters. Track everything. What gets measured gets managed, and when performance is measured, performance improves.
   
   This is why tracking matters. Consider “Quitter’s Day,” which is a REAL day, and it falls on the second Friday of January. Over half of all people who set New Year’s resolutions have already quit by then. Hence the name, “Quitter’s Day.” Not because the goals were unrealistic, but because the systems weren’t reinforced, and we often bite off more than we can chew, and it’s simply not sustainable.

Call to Action

Start now. Don’t wait until January. You don’t need a New Year’s resolution to make significant changes.

We overestimate what we can accomplish in a month, and we underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. Start with ONE thing. Build the habit. Follow the system. Trust the process. And remember: Momentum becomes your greatest competitive advantage.
Want a downloadable version of the Weekly Tracker Limitless Leadership uses to level up in five specific areas of life? Email [email protected] today to request a free copy.