We are now almost through May, and for those who set goals this year, you might be wondering where that motivation went to even start in reaching your goals. It’s easy to sit down and set goals for yourself, but then life happens, and suddenly it’s the end of May and you still haven’t started, or maybe you just aren’t as far along as you thought you might be.
You are not alone. Don’t give up on yourself. You’re going to have days when you feel motivated and moving forward feels easy. You're also going to have days when you feel like you’re going in the wrong direction, taking 10 steps back, and like you want to give up. What you do on the days you want to sleep in, on the days you want to give up, on the days when nothing is going right…this will determine your outcome.
The difference between you and someone else is what you do when the shiny newness of your goals wears off. Here are a few reasons why you might feel a little behind in your success, and most importantly…what to do about it!
Keep your promises to yourself
Promises are important to keep. But the most important promises to keep are the ones to yourself! If your goals were to schedule more workouts, work this year on building a business, or put more money away…keep it going! Just because you didn't start something when you should have, doesn't mean you can't begin.
Share your goals with others
Accountability to yourself is a lot easier with help. When you share your life with another person and share your goals, it makes them more real…and makes you less likely to falter.
Pick a friend, spouse, yoga buddy, neighbor, whoever! Tell them your plan and ask if you can talk to them about it on the regular. Or, if your goal could involve a buddy invite them along! It’s far more difficult to not show up when someone else is counting on you.
Make a real game plan
Great coaches don't go into a game without a plan. You might have big goals. Or, your goals might be on the smaller side. Either way, sit down and plan out step by step how you’re going to reach your goal. Odds are, the steps necessary are more than just “achieve the goal.” Write down each step, how long it should take, and give yourself a deadline for each.
Set a deadline
Why is it important to have deadlines in your life? They’re stressful, change constantly, and create added pressure. And that’s exactly why you need them! When people aren’t motivated every single day, having deadlines help create that drive to keep moving forward. Especially when we don’t want to.
Once you have your game plan, give each step a deadline. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but giving a good estimate on how long your goal will take to achieve will certainly get you moving in the right direction.
Accept failure...it's ok to fail
Failure is not an option for a lot of people. But it should be an option because you cannot have success without failure. If failing were not an option, then we wouldn't have heard of Babe Ruth, the home run king and the strike out king. Just because you are failing at your goals does not mean that you should not keep striving toward them. Keep working toward them no matter how many times you fail along the way.
Celebrate your wins!
It’s important to recognize that the small steps are what get us to our big goals! High five yourself for sticking with it and checking things off, one day at a time. Our society can really pop the bubble on excitement. And for some reason, it’s become the norm to keep excitement to ourselves. But why?! If you’ve done something you’re proud of, no matter how “small,” be excited! Life’s too short not to celebrate.
The moral of the story is to stick with it. Do one thing you don’t want to do every day that will move you toward your goal. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you just … keep … going. Before you know it, you’ll need new goals because you’ll have achieved what you hoped!
