What Are Behavior-Based Goals?

We don’t set a goal to fail. That’s not why we set them. Instead, we’re setting them to better some aspect of our lives. It is an inherently positive process that should be producing positive results. So, what’s the problem?

The problem isn’t the destination itself. Any end result is ultimately achievable. The problem lies in how we’re going about getting to that end result. It’s the journey from where we are now to where we want to be that the trouble starts. That’s where behavior-based goals come into play.

Reaching your destination requires more than simply stating a result you want to achieve and a date that you want to achieve it by (an end point). The day-to-day bustle of your busy life often results in you losing your way or putting aside your target. When this happens, you often end up wandering, often ending up heading in the wrong direction. It’s this “one step forward, two steps back” vicious circle that prevents most people from leading a productive life, one where reaching goals is a commonplace occurrence.

When you set your objectives based on the behaviors required to reach them, you break the circular cycle that stops most people cold. Behavior-based goal setting is about doing the things that need to be done, on a daily basis, that keep you moving towards the end points that you have chosen. It removes the rigid focus on the end result and, instead, places it squarely on the actions or inactions that regularly prevent you from being truly goal oriented.

Behavior-based goals, as the name implies, focus on the process of, and the problems involved in, getting from point A to point B. They are not dealing with the actual desired end result at all. Instead, they deal with the behaviors and actions that are necessary to get to that result. In other words, change your behaviors, develop new behaviors and, in time, you will reach your overall goal.

Next week, I’ll be talking about the differences between behavior and result based goals.