I have a sticker problem, and it turns out to be the best explanation I’ve found for why goals that stick are so hard to come by. Stay with me here.
I’m pretty sure most kids love stickers, and I was no exception. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I had a sticker book and was proud of every page. A few were puffy, but most were scratch and sniff. I can still smell the garlic and oregano of my pizza sticker. (Decades later, that’s crystal clear. Where I put my phone ten minutes ago? No idea.)
College brought a second sticker phase: bumper stickers, plus stickers from places I traveled that went on my guitar case. I ran out of space fast, since many were full-sized bumper stickers. A guitar case is only so big.
And it seems stickers are back in style nowadays. Brands, tourist destinations, sports teams, and random stickers with fun sayings are everywhere I go, which is dangerous for someone like me. My newest came from Mackinac Island, where I attended a professional conference last month. I squeezed in a run around the island and bought two stickers (one small, one big) to commemorate it. They’re the classic ovals with 8.2 inside, the mileage around the island. Yes, I bought the sticker that proves I ran it. No regrets.
The Sticker Drawer Problem
Here’s my real problem: I don’t know what to do with them. If I stick one on my computer or water bottle, it’s there for good. Eventually it peels, or I get a new computer. So they pile up on my desk or in a drawer, where I rarely see them and no one else does.
But that’s not their purpose. Stickers are supposed to document the places, brands, and funny sayings that matter to me. Yet I keep collecting them. (Collecting is the fun part. Applying is where the commitment lives.)
Why Goals That Stick Are Harder Than Goals That Feel Good
Why confess my dysfunctional relationship with stickers? Because many of us treat our goals the same way. We want goals that matter, ones that represent our future instead of our history. But more often than not, we set a goal, admire it, and let it sit there like a sticker in my desk drawer.
Goal setting feels great. It feels like direction, like positive change in the professional, personal, or purpose-driven parts of your life. But feeling good isn’t getting there. With 2027 approaching, when New Year goals look extra appealing, here are three goal setting tips to help you move from collecting goals to achieving them.
Tip 1: Be Picky About Which Goals You Set
It’s tempting to do all the things at once: a record-setting quarter at work, a health journey, and more volunteering for your favorite nonprofit. Before you commit, invest time in a vision for your life. I don’t just mean a five-year plan. I mean who you want to be, where you want to go, and what you want your legacy to be. That’s not easy, but fewer, better-aligned goals will save you from taking on things that don’t move you toward your vision.
Tip 2: Give Every Goal a Detailed Action Plan
Any goal worth setting deserves a detailed action plan. Life comes at us at ninety miles an hour on the slow days, and even great goals slip through the cracks. Start by identifying the resources you need: people, time, finances, and anything else required. A health journey might need workout time and a new menu. Will your family eat the new foods with you, or are you running a two-menu kitchen? Skip that question now and it shows up later as resistance.
Then add clear deadlines and deliverables. If you’re aiming for a record-setting quarter, set milestones along the way. A goal without a deadline might get done, but probably not when you need it.
Tip 3: Work the Plan Every Week
Even the best plan needs action and accountability. A perfect plan tucked in the back of a notebook or buried in an unnamed document on a USB thumb drive, is just another sticker in the drawer. You can’t follow a plan you haven’t looked at in two months.
That’s where weekly planning earns its keep, and where my Sunday Strategy™ worksheet comes in. Every Sunday, I spend 15 minutes reviewing my plan, checking my milestones, and mapping out the week ahead. Because I assign tasks to specific days, I start each morning with an action plan ready to go.
Time to Peel and Stick
None of these steps is hard, but none is simple, either. Most of us don’t invest the time and mental energy to be this intentional. If you do, I promise you’ll see results.
So let’s give our goals what I’ve never given my stickers: a place to live where they’re seen, used, and doing their job.
Ready to make this year’s goals stick? Sign up for my newsletter and download my Sunday Strategy™ worksheet and guide, so your goals stop gathering dust and start getting done.