Setting goals each year is a great way to know if you’re moving towards your dreams or if you’ve veered off course. Is this something you do each year? If you do, now that we’re halfway through the year, it’s the perfect time to stop and take an honest look at your progress.
For those of you that are on track and set to smash your goals, that’s awesome. But, if you’ve lost your way in the first half of the year, it’s not too late to turn things around. Here’s a few points you might want to consider if you’re a little off track:
Ask these goals really things you personally want to pursue?
Sometimes we can get caught up in the momentum of other people’s dreams and mistakenly believe they are also our own. Now there’s nothing wrong with this, but it makes it pretty damn hard to stick with something in the long run if it’s not in your heart. If you’re certain that the goal is your own and that you still feel you want to pursue it then:
What was the ‘why’ behind wanting to achieve them in the first place?
Behind every great dream or idea there is usually a strong ‘why’ which is backed with intense feeling and emotions. What was driving you to commit to your goals in the first place? Go back and try to re-channel the energy you first felt when you decided to go for the goal and bring it to life again. When you find that spark of inspiration within to go after your dreams:
Re-commit to achieving them
Say it out aloud! “I commit to….” There is a huge difference between making a half-hearted decision to try and achieve something versus being all in and 100% committed to seeing something through no matter what. If you’re serious about turning your dreams into reality, committing to them is critical. If going it alone causes you to fear you will give up:
Find an accountability partner or go public
When you know that you’re going to be letting down others as well as yourself if you fail to follow through on your commitments, this can give you much needed motivation to continue when you’re ready to throw it all in. There are so many places you can find people willing to keep you accountable today, either in person, online or in paid coaching arrangements. Depending on your goal, you may even want to take your journey public and gain some momentum from the support of many people, friends and strangers, to help you see it through until you achieve it.
As part of your goal setting process each year it’s a good idea to build some form of accountability into them from the outset to help prevent you from losing your way throughout the year. But remember, it is okay to walk away from a goal if it truly isn’t what you want to pursue. It is also okay to stumble every now and then on your journey to achieving your goals. Just keep taking one step at a time in the right direction and you will reach your dreams.
