How To Really Start The Change: 5 Reasons Why Your Self-improvement Plan Always Fails

 I'm assuming you're here because you are curious why others seem to have it all together, and there you are on another side of the room, still failing after your 127th try. Now you're wondering if self-improvement is really for you. Perhaps you doubt your ability to make real changes in life. If so, we had that in common. I was there too. And just like all other people like us, maybe you are still missing one piece of the puzzle. So let me tell you what you could be doing wrong that's preventing you from achieving your goals. 

But before we dive into it, let's first define Self-improvement. The Cambridge Dictionary says that it is the activity of learning new things on your own that makes you a more skilled or able person. Let me include another term for it, from the same web dictionary, which is Self-development; it is the act of deciding for yourself how to improve your skills and taking action to do this. I love how these definitions clearly show us that self-improvement is really possible because it is OUR choice. 

Self-improvement is essential because human beings were designed to live for a purpose. As the world changes, we also find that our demands also change. Hence, our priority should be to improve ourselves, know what we want, set our goals, and find our place.

You kept on trying, but you also kept on failing.

    So you feel stuck? You have a genuine desire for self-improvement, and you kept on starting your plan but kept on failing. This is very true to so many people, including me. In fact, before I started writing this content, I looked up the most recent asked-questions about self-improvement and self-development. And it goes around the questions of why it is important, how to achieve it and if it is really possible to do it. 

    The first question tells me that people are curious about it. The second tells me that these people found the value of it and are now willing to do it. And if we follow the flow of action, the last question brings us the problem; these people started to do it, but it did not work. Let us now talk about the possible reasons why these people failed. These could also be the reason why WE failed. 

5 Reasons Why Your Self-improvement Plan Always Fails

• Not writing down the plan

    Having your goals and a detailed plan written down on a piece of paper is a very important thing YOU HAVE TO DO because we easily forget things. Do you realize how many tasks are waiting for you every day at work, at school, and at home? We also get a bunch of new plans and ideas that could cloud our minds every single day. So please help yourself start achieving your goals by writing them down on paper and putting it up somewhere you can easily see them! If you do not see them, you will not do them.

• Not having a clear reason or purpose.

    Your WHY is the reason for achieving your goals. When you decide to exert effort to do something, you need to clearly understand why you want to achieve it. Climbing up a ladder requires some muscle work. What more if that is a new ladder you are climbing, and you have no clue how long it will take you to reach the first stop and how hard it will get? 

    Different problems such as self-doubt, criticism, and anxiety will meet you along the journey. And when it happens, you will be tempted to give up. That will be the best time to look back to it and to remind yourself of the purpose of your hard works. So make sure that your reason is powerful enough to make you continue despite the struggles you will meet on the way.

• Not creating a timeframe.

    I cannot stress this enough. Your self-improvement plan needs a timeframe! You must do it. We sometimes think that we have all the time in the world and we will get it done later. But if you did not write it down and there is no time ticking in your head, guess what? You will not do it later, or ever! 

    Setting a due date for every task will help you organize your priorities. You will be prepared mentally for what is needed from you on the following days because you have an overview of it. Whether your goal is to finish a book or to start your own business, knowing how many tasks you will do for a day, how much time you will be spending on it, and the exact time you will be doing it will help you really start and finish the job.

• Not ready to start yet.

    Maybe you started, but you were not ready for the challenge yet. If you did not write down your plans, you had no clear reason on why you were doing it, and you did not set up a time to when you should finish each task; your goal is just floating in the air. You are not showing any intention at all. 

    During the second week of my career mentorship, which just ended recently, I was reminded of a very important lesson that I kept on learning from different stages of my life. It doesn't matter how big you desire to do something or how great your ideas are. If you do not take any action, it will always be equal to zero. If you are intentional about your self-improvement plan, make the effort of preparing yourself before meeting the starting point. 

• Not trying again

    Lastly, but definitely not the least, "trying again." I wrote a blog about the importance of consistency to achieving success. We all fail in life, not just once, not twice, but maybe hundredths of times. And when you fail once more, know that you have the choice to try again. Besides, we learn from our mistakes, right?

    Did you play Super Mario with your neighbor when you were a kid? I bet you did not give up saving Princess Peach after your first time of losing all your lives, and when the game is over, right? As a matter of fact, you chose to start again, not just once or twice, but until you won the game. 

    Do you know why you were so excited to try again after losing? Because you saw your mistake and chose to learn from that experience. You knew that next time you do it, you know the right time to do the jump and the time to expect Bowser. You couldn't wait to get it done. Now, do it again. This time, not for Princess Peach but for yourself.

    So there you go, those are the five possible reasons why your self-improvement plan always fails. Did you find what you're missing? Or maybe you realized that you were just not ready yet? 

    

    If you think you have lost your hope in improving yourself, and reaching your goal, think again because the fact that you are reading this tells me something different. 

    Failures can be disappointing. In her book: Mindset, Carol Dweck talked about two different worlds of mindset. In the first one, failure means you're not smart or talented. On the other one, it means you're not fulfilling your potential. You choose for yourself what you will do with those failed attempts. But what I want you to know today is that self-improvement is really possible. You just need to prepare yourself for it. 

Now get a pen and paper. Start writing down your goals, make sure to include your most motivating and irresistible WHY, set a time and date for your tasks, and start doing it now! 

PS. You will meet a lot of roadblocks, but you can always try to find a different route!