Blog

Author - Evie Arnold Gallup Certified Strength Coach / Leadership Coach

Let’s be honest.  If traditional goal-setting worked, January wouldn’t feel like Groundhog Day every year.

• You wouldn’t be recycling the same resolutions.
• You wouldn’t be quietly abandoning them by mid-February.
• You wouldn’t be wondering why motivation evaporates just when you “should” be at your most disciplined.

Yet every January, the same advice gets recycled:

➡️ Set SMART goals.

➡️ Fix your weaknesses.

➡️ Push harder.

➡️ Be more disciplined.

And every year, the results look remarkably similar.

The uncomfortable truth?

There is another way. And it’s fundamentally different. 

The Problem with Traditional Goal-Setting

Traditional goal-setting models sound sensible on the surface. They’re neat, structured, logical. But they are built on flawed assumptions and here’s why they consistently fail.

1. They focus on who you aren’t, not who you are

Most goal frameworks push you to identify gaps, weaknesses, and areas of deficiency.

“Improve your communication.”
“Get better at time management.”
“Work on your confidence.”
“Fix your attention to detail.”

 

The underlying message is subtle but powerful:
You are not enough as you are.

 

This creates goals rooted in self-criticism rather than self-understanding. Which is why they feel heavy, draining, and difficult to sustain.  You’re trying to build your future on the parts of yourself that already struggle.  That’s not discipline. That’s self-sabotage dressed up as development.

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2. They rely on motivation instead of energy

January is full of motivation…new notebooks... fresh plans...optimism...clean slates.

By March, reality returns.

Traditional goal-setting assumes motivation is stable and controllable. It isn’t. Motivation fluctuates. Energy is far more predictive of long-term success.

If your goals drain you, they will not last.  If your goals align with your natural energy, they will. 

Most models never ask the most important question:

       “Does this goal actually suit how you are wired?”

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3. They confuse discipline with effectiveness

SMART goals are measurable. They’re tidy. They look impressive on paper.

But being SPECIFIC doesn’t make a goal meaningful.
Being MEASURABLE doesn’t make a goal motivating.
Being STRUCTURED doesn’t make a goal sustainable.

You can hit every checkbox and still feel:

• Disengaged
• Overwhelmed
• Stuck
• Inconsistent
• Drained

Because the issue isn’t structure – it’s alignment.

 

What Strength-Based Goal Setting Actually Does Differently

Strength-based goal setting begins from a different premise:

 

CliftonStrengths® identifies the patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving that come most naturally to you. These are not skills you learned. They are patterns you consistently default to under pressure, over time, and across situations.

When goals are designed around these strengths:

• They feel more natural to pursue
• Progress happens faster
• Effort feels sustainable
• Confidence increases
• Results compound over time

 This isn’t motivational theory - it’s decades of Gallup research applied practically - and it changes everything about how goals are created.

 

Why Strength-Based Goals Actually Work

Here’s where the difference becomes tangible.

1. They create momentum instead of resistance

When goals align with your strengths, you don’t need to force consistency. You gravitate towards the work naturally.

• Someone high in Strategic® thrives on long-term thinking.
• Someone high in Achiever® gains energy from daily progress.
• Someone high in Relator® builds momentum through deep one-to-one relationships.
• Someone high in Ideation® generates possibilities effortlessly.

Where traditional goals ignore these differences - strength-based goals leverage them.  This means you stop pushing uphill and you start moving with your own psychology.

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2. They build confidence through evidence, not affirmations

Confidence isn’t built by telling yourself you’re capable. It’s built by repeatedly experiencing competence.

Strength-based goal setting deliberately positions you to experience success faster, because you’re using your strongest patterns from day one.

That creates:

• Faster wins
• Stronger self-trust
• Greater resilience under pressure
• More consistent follow-through

This isn’t because you’re trying harder, it’s because you’re working smarter in alignment with yourself.

 

3. They reduce burnout instead of fuelling it

Many ambitious professionals don’t fail because they lack drive. They fail because they’re exhausted.

Traditional goal-setting often rewards overextension:

➡️ Do more. Push harder. Improve everything.

Strength-based goal setting introduces discernment:

➡️ Where should you focus because it delivers disproportionate impact?

➡️ Where are you forcing performance that could be redesigned?

➡️ Which goals genuinely energise you versus quietly deplete you?

 

4. They create personalised strategy, not generic plans

No two CliftonStrengths® profiles are identical. Which means no two goal strategies should be identical either.  Two people can have the same goal - promotion, confidence, productivity - but require entirely different pathways to get there.

 

Traditional models offer universal frameworks.
Strengths-based coaching creates individual strategy.

 

Why This Matters Now (Not in February When Motivation Has Gone)

January is when people are most open to change. It’s also when they’re most vulnerable to adopting approaches that look good but quietly set them up to fail. 

If you’ve ever:

• Abandoned goals after initial enthusiasm
• Felt disciplined but still inconsistent
• Hit targets yet felt dissatisfied
• Tried to “fix” yourself year after year
• Wondered why growth feels harder than it should

 

The issue isn’t your willpower.

The issue is the model you’re using.

 

Strength-Based Goal Setting Isn’t Softer. It’s Sharper. 

There’s a misconception that focusing on strengths is indulgent. Comfortable. Easier.

...It isn’t.

• It’s more demanding because it requires self-honesty.
• It requires accountability.
• It requires intentional design.
• It requires ownership of how you work best.

But it’s also far more effective.

You’re no longer chasing goals that look good on paper, instead you’re building goals that are strategically designed around your psychology.

 

If January Is About Change, Make It a Smarter One

You can set another list of resolutions and hope this year will be different.

Or you can understand the operating system you’re actually working with.

CliftonStrengths® coaching gives you:

• Clear insight into your dominant talent patterns
• Practical application to work, leadership, productivity and decision-making
• Strength-based goal strategies tailored to you
• Sustainable momentum instead of short-lived motivation
• A framework you can use long after January fades

It’s about using who you already are more effectively.

 

Ready to Set Goals That Actually Stick?

If you’re serious about making this year different — not just in intention, but in execution — then strength-based coaching is where that shift begins.

Book a CliftonStrengths coaching session with MLR and start building goals that are grounded in who you are, how you think, and how you naturally perform at your best.  It’s a relief to know the  problem was never your ambition - it was the strategy you were taught to use.