How to Get Back On Track With Your Goals
Hey there and welcome to February! It’s been a month into the new year and I wanted to check in on you and see how you are doing with your goals! No matter what goal you may have set for yourself, the steps to take to achieve those goals are very similar.
The new year comes, and we all have high hopes for ourselves. “This year is going to be so much better!” (I’m sure we all said that or were hoping for that, especially after 2020). We make goals for ourselves with every intention of achieving them. But then…LIFE HAPPENS. We fall off track somehow and then lose that new year momentum.
How can you get back on track to accomplish your goals? Just think of THE THREE R’s
1. Revisit
One thing to do to get back on track with your goal is to revisit the goal you set for yourself in the first place. Did you make a SMART Goal for yourself? When setting a goal, there are certain criteria to have in order to make it attainable in the first place. Think to yourself, is this goal: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound?
TIP: Revisiting your goal should not be done only when you fall off the wagon. One way to help you stay on track is to set a day in your calendar for either a weekly, biweekly, or monthly check in for yourself (how often will depend on how often you feel you need it!). Revisit your goal and remember your why! Which leads me into my next point….
2. Reflect
There are a couple of different moving parts when it comes to reflection. I will try to break each one down the best I can. First and foremost, when reflecting on your goals, you must remember your WHY. Some questions you can ask yourself are:
“Why did I make this goal for myself in the first place?”
“What are the positive ways my life will change by achieving these goals?”
“How do I see my life after I have achieved these goals?”
Another part of reflection is again, making sure you set those SMART Goals appropriately. Take it piece by piece and really reflect. Grab a journal and think about everything going on in your life and maybe why you aren’t achieving this goal. Some questions to ask yourself here would be:
“What isn’t working and how can I make it work?”
“Is it something in my routine that isn’t working? Can I change my routine up?”
“Is this goal maybe just TOO big that I am feeling defeated? Can I maybe simplify this goal or separate it into different milestones so I feel accomplished and can keep the momentum going?”
During the reflection stage, you also want to just reflect on yourself and be kind to yourself. Being kind to yourself and giving yourself some grace is the best way to go. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Think about some of the wins you have had and some of the things that ARE working for you:
“What have I accomplished so far?”
“What IS working for me?”
“What do I enjoy about this whole process?”
3. Reach Out
They have personal trainers to get you into better physical shape, health coaches to help you learn a healthier diet and lifestyle, professional organizers to help get your home into shape, so why not reach out to someone to keep you on track with your goals?
An accountability partner is so important to help keep you on track. I know, I know, it sounds awful right? But, I like to think of it like this: When I was in school, or at work and had a boss or teacher expecting me to complete an assignment by a certain deadline, you’re darn right that I had my butt in gear and completed that assignment for the due date! It was like the teacher or boss was the accountability partner there.
When we work on things by ourselves, it’s so much easier to just say, “Tomorrow is another day”. But when you know you have someone else holding you accountable, or even depending on you for something, that is a totally different story.
You don’t have to pay someone to be an accountability partner. Choose a close friend that you are comfortable with, but you know they will hold you accountable. You don’t want a pushover as an accountability partner! You want someone who will set firm expectations, encourage you, and support you.
I’d love to hear how you are all making out with your goals! What have you achieved so far? Let me know in the comments!
Talk soon,