The thing about setting goals is you can rest assured that a test is coming. I don’t understand why the universe is set up like this, but it is. In a way, it’s like something wants to see how bad we want it. It seems like there is an outside force doing everything it can to discourage us from following through with our dreams and aspirations.
I believe an important step to attaining your goals is understanding tests and possible discouragement is part of the process.
Often, we see people start something and stop shortly afterward. It happens all the time. For the ones that aren’t aware that discouragement is part of the process, they may not realize it while it’s happening. They may not know when the idea or ideas started slipping away. All they know is one day they’ll look back at something they planned to do, and months have passed without them even thinking about it.
It is so interesting to me how we can be so excited about something one minute and shortly after it’s not even a thought. That’s why understanding that this is a possibility is a critical step to sticking to your plan.
So, What’s Next?
Once I realized how quickly goals can become an afterthought, I started thinking about all the things I’ve heard career experts and successful people say about success. Particularly, writing things down. Why is this important? Well, it’s one way to keep your goals, dreams, and aspirations at the top of your mind.
As I stated earlier, it’s easy to forget about things, but if we have them written down in a place where we often look, it’s always on our minds.
For years I made the mistake of writing things (goals) down and putting them away. For example, I would make a goals list and store it somewhere to avoid losing it. The problem with that is months would go by before I pulled my list back out. There were many years I never looked at my goals list beyond January. The sad thing is, I would repeat the cycle the next year. I know, blockhead move… right?
Okay, so now I understand the importance of having my goals visible, but for some reason, the fire still doesn’t seem to burn as hot as the weeks go by. Once again, I was super excited about this goal six weeks ago, but now I don’t feel like doing it… discouragement.
Ask yourself, what does ‘not feeling like doing it’ mean to you? Have you ever been excited about something and shortly after the fire starts to dim? Tell me, does one of these hit the nail on the head?
- I don’t have enough time
- It’s too hard
- No one was paying attention
- The weather has been too unpredictable
- Life got crazy
This list could have been much longer, but I think you get the picture.
These are normal feelings that most of us get when we don’t know how to properly set goals. That’s right, there is an art to goal setting.
Adjustments
In my opinion, the easiest way to approach goal setting is to accept that whatever you come up with may have to be adjusted later. While on any journey, we find that unexpected circumstances arise that cause us to shift gears.
There is nothing wrong with shifting gears, it is much more productive than stopping. When we are forced to adjust, I believe that we are subconsciously creating better ways to progress in our specific lives or situations.
Sometimes we get discouraged during the adjustment process because we realize we may be unable to do what we initially thought. Remember, that’s part of learning how to set better goals. There is a popular acronym for setting goals called SMART goals.
Your goals should be:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Relevant
T – Time Bound
If you keep this in mind it will make a big difference in your goal setting.