Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Goal Setting with Contingency Plans is your ultimate strategy to stay on track with your ambitions, especially when 88% of people abandon their New Year's resolutions by mid-January! In this episode of Prospecting on Purpose, Sara shares the secret to achieving goals by planning for failure. Yes, you read that right—planning to fail can actually help you succeed. With a step-by-step breakdown, Sara explains how goal setting with contingency plans can reduce anxiety, build resilience, and keep your motivation alive, even when life gets in the way.
Using relatable examples, she shows how creating flexible, adaptable goals can turn setbacks into comebacks. Whether it's adjusting your workout routine during a busy week or rethinking ambitious resolutions, Sara equips you with tools to anticipate challenges and persevere.
🎯 Ready to transform your approach to goal setting? Tune in to learn:
How to plan for failure and bounce back stronger.
Why self-compassion is key to sticking with your goals.
The mindset shift that helps you turn setbacks into growth opportunities.
Let's make 2025 the year you redefine success with goal-setting with contingency plans!
Love the episode? Subscribe, rate, and leave a review. For more insights:
#GoalSettingWithContingencyPlans #ProspectingOnPurpose #MindsetForSuccess #OvercomingSetbacks #2025Goals
Connect with Sara
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saramurraysales LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saramurraysales/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saramurraysales/
Prospecting on Purpose is *the* show to discuss all things prospecting, sales, business, and mindset. As businesses evolve and become more complex, there are HUGE opportunities to cross-pollinate different industries, sales channels, and business practices. This is a place where professionals come together to learn from one another as we prospect for new businesses with creativity, authenticity, and intentionality.
Prospecting on Purpose is a mix of Forbes meets Saturday Night Live with your host, Sara Murray. A heart-centric sales champion who will raise your vibes while increasing your confidence in every part of the sales journey; from marketing and prospecting to asking for the order and creating consistent repeat business.
Join Sara every Monday for a brand new episode as she unpacks contemporary business strategies with world-class thought-leaders and shares her own insights on how to connect with clients, communicate with confidence, and close the deal!
Connect with Sara at:
88% of people abandon their goals
so you're in the majority if you give up
but the point is to not really give up
it's just to acknowledge the setback
and then move on with your plan
missing your workout doesn't mean you failed
it just means you need to readjust your approach
step 1 is to define the worst case scenario
you might feel guilty or frustrated
because you aren't keeping an alignment with a promise
you said to yourself
you might hate pictures of yourself
or your clothes don't fit
not impact your confidence in setting future goals
outside of this category of life
that's why people don't even start
welcome back to prospecting on purpose
this is the first solo episode of Season 3
and it is airing the last week of January
and you know what else happens the last week of January
people abandon their New Year's resolutions
a study show that 88% of people
fail their resolutions within the first two weeks
so if you're still trucking on January 27th
kudos to you you are in the extreme minority
so for today's episode
I thought it'd be very timely to share just one big tip
that's helped me with goal setting
and it's been proven to help
people achieve their goals
and it's probably not what you think
so when you're looking at your resolution
or any goal or objective that you're striving for
the biggest tip I can share with you is that
it's crucial to anticipate failure
and plan on what you're gonna do
if you veer from your goals
so that's the tip plan to fail
and I will use an example for us
as we break this down a little bit
so I'm gonna use a very common example
let's assume you've specific a specific objective
you already know enough about goal planning
to be specific in your goals
so instead of saying get healthier or lose weight
you've established that
you are going to lose 10 pounds
by July 1st
and you're gonna do this by working out 30 minutes
for three days a week and walking 10,000 steps a day
right very common
you got your metrics you got your end date
but what most people fail to do
as part of their goal setting
is to create a contingency plan
if you fail
or let's say you have to go on a work trip for a week
and you don't exercise at all
you've kind of crushed your momentum
well why bother getting back in the routine
I already stopped all my progress
so
here's how you can create a plan to anticipate failure
and step 1 is to define the worst case scenario
so the worst case scenario on this example
is that you've completely abandoned
your exercise routine and you're not walking at all
you're not moving your body
you've just given up on the exercise
so obviously on top of not exercising
you might feel guilty or frustrated
because you aren't keeping an alignment with a promise
you said to yourself
you might hate pictures of yourself
or your clothes don't fit
you know
all of these things add up to a sense of failure
and that impacts your confidence
in setting future goals
outside of this category of life
you know
pings other categories when we let ourselves down
that's why it that's why it's so hard sometimes
that's why people don't even start
so if you kind of think about the worst case scenario
that definitely helps you motivate yourself to
to avoid it but also it let you create a plan
so now that you have an idea on what could happen
and you're anticipating this
you can create a response plan if you get off of track
so this way if a setback happens
the first thing I want you to do is to just acknowledge
the setback without judgment
like if you miss multiple workouts or you stop entirely
remind yourself that setbacks are normal
self compassion is really the key
to avoid any type of downward spiral
and remind yourself that
88% of people abandon their goals
so you're in the majority if you give up
but the point is to not really give up
it's just to acknowledge the setback
and then move on with your plan
so the example response here is missing your workout
doesn't mean you failed
it just means you need to readjust your approach
this is part of the contingency plan
giving yourself the freedom
and flexibility to change it
and adjust it as needed so the next step is
I want you to reassess and adjust your goal
you wanna analyze why the goal was abandoned
was it too ambitious
did life circumstances get in the way
use this reflection to modify
your goal into something more achievable
so in the example you had a business trip
you didn't get exercise maybe for your next work trip
you already know you're not gonna get your workout in
so maybe you schedule your exercise the day before
and the day you get back from your trip
and then you just plan on
not working out during the business trip
because the time is too tight
another adjustment might be hey
you know what the three days a week
and the 10,000 steps are a little too much
maybe you remove an element of it
maybe you just ditch the step count
and exercise three days a week
or ditch the exercise for now
and just hit your step count
and then you can start to layer on
but in that worst case scenario
you can build flexibility in your goal
by preparing for disruptions
and that's really where
the contingency plan concept comes in
so maybe if part of part of the goal is
you were too busy to do this workout
can you commit to five minutes of stretching or walking
instead
if I can't make it to the gym
I'll do a 10 minute lap around the hotel
or I'll take the stairs down to my rental car
or the lobby instead of the elevator
this is really where when you have a plan
and you know you have a plan
then if a setback happens
it reduces the feeling of anxiety about failing
because you know you have a plan
this also builds resilience
because if you're anticipating failure
then you're reminding yourself that setbacks
are a part of growth
and this mindset shift really fosters resilience
and encourages persistence
which are both key attributes and achieving our goals
the other thing I really like about planning to fail
is that it gives us flexibility
you know I think a lot of us get really rigid
and it's very black or white
but if we have a flexible plan
it allows us to adapt
without feeling like we failed entirely
and this is really what keeps motivation alive
even when progress was a lot slower than you want
or you have a setback
Winston Churchill is quoted as saying
perfection is the enemy of progress
so if you slip you can still be moving forward
the only thing that's gonna prevent you from
achieving your goals is inaction
and with those 88% of people who just ditch their plan
they're not moving forward in there
they're stuck in in action
so if you've abandoned your resolutions already
do not worry just take a minute to reflect
readjust and recommit to a plan that is
including handling setbacks
remember success and progress is not linear
there's a lot of UPS and downs along the way
it's all about learning
and growing through every challenge
and doing your best to not give up
so I wanna cheers you
cheers us all for achieving our goals in 2025
whether they're personal or professional
and making this year a year of joy and expansion
I am so happy to have you on the show
thank you so much for tuning in
and I'll see you next week