3 Fixes If You're Not Achieving Your Goals
It's February guys! How many of you set goals in December or January and were all "You guys! 2018 is going to be MY year!!" only for you to have already failed on or two of your goals? Or how many of you are currently saying January is your trial month and you can get around with your goals this week, i.e., February or sometime later?
Don't worry, there's nothing to be ashamed of. We have all been there.
"But I set my goals with such zeal! 2018 really was going to be my year! I don't know what happened!"
Okay fine, let's do some troubleshooting then. Come on.
#1. Are your goals S.M.A.R.T?
How many of you have a goal that looks like this: "I will get fit in 2018"?
Or something along those lines and your goal is essentially vague, with a high possibility for neglect?
The first step towards setting goals that can become tangible, that can be something you can achieve is to set goals that are
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
So in the case of getting fit in 2018, it's a fantastic goal, don't get me wrong, who doesn't want to be fit? But!
Step 1. What do you mean by fit? How do you define fit? Do you want to be fit enough to run up the escalators so that you can catch your train in time in the morning? Do you want to be fit like that guy in the crossfit gym you walk past? Do you want to be fit like Beyoncé? Be specific. For this article, let's adopt the definition of fit as the ability to run a 5K.
Step 2. Okay, so now you are specific with what you mean by "fit". How do you intend to measure or track this? Human beings are simple. We need to see constant results and constant achievements for something to become sustainable. If you define "fit" as the ability to run a 5K in September and you are someone who has never run a marathon, you should be able to say for example, do a 1K by March, a 2.5K by June, and a 5K by September. Make sure that your goals are measurable.
Step 3. So your goal is now Specific and Measurable. Great. But if you, like me exercised for the last time during your P.E. period in school almost 10 years ago, and have now decided to get fit, expecting to look like Alicia Vikander by June might be a tad ridiculous. Have people achieved it? Maybe. But it's not the general case for everyone. Having grand goals is not wrong. But having grand goals to the point they are not attainable is not only bad for your self-esteem, it can also be counter-productive. This is exactly how you crash on a bag of chips and yell "Screw this, I'm never getting fit!"
Step 4. It's not just enough if your goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable. It has to be Realistic as well. You are not going to be able to do the 5K one day overnight. Nor are you going to be able to go the gym every single day, if you are like me. You need a recovery day guys! You need to set realistic steps. What is a realistic way you can be able to be able to run a 5K in September? Maybe you could jog for 30 minutes 3 times a week?
Step 5. Great! Now your goal is Specific, Measurable, Attainable and Realistic! What now? Well, is your goal bound by time? 2018 is time bound, you are not wrong. But when in 2018? July? November? If you were able to achieve the measurable aspects of your goal we talked about in Step 2 at specific time frames, or checkpoints, you are more likely to establish a habit, or be more empowered to stay in line with your goal.
So an example your goal could like instead of "I will get fit in 2018" is "I will be fit enough to run the 5K held in September by jogging for 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7am". See the difference?
#2. Is your environment goal friendly?
Personally if you ask me, if your goals are S.M.A.R.T. enough, you should be closer to achieving your goals. But another important step, or an important aspect that can often be overlooked is whether the environment around you enables you to achieve your goals. So, are the people you surround yourself with goal setters and attainers as well? Or are they happy to not set any goals at all? Do you follow enough people on Instagram who motivate you to work harder on your goals? Or are the people you follow on Instagram making you feel inferior or inadequate in achieving your goals? Do you need to set up a Pinterest board or vision board to look at motivators ever so often? If you intend to do yoga three times a week in your room, is there a dedicated space that allows you to do so? Or does it require a lot of furniture shifting which makes you go "meh" when you think about doing yoga?
#3. Maybe this goal is just not for you
If you have given it your all for this goal since January 1st or it's something you have been working on for some time, and you have difficulties sticking to it, you don't see any tangible results, or you see some results but it's not what exactly you had in mind, maybe this goal simply isn't for you. Certain things go with our flow and certain things just don't. You don't have to get in shape by doing SoulCycle just because it worked/works for your friend. Try something else! Take time to honour the fact that you gave this goal your time and your best, and that even if it didn't work out for you, you learned [insert lessons] from it. There is no shame in admitting you failed on a goal or abandoning it after you have tried your maximum because not everything in life has to work. Turn it into a teaching moment and see how you can incorporate that in the other aspects of your life.
And that's it! Those are my 3 steps to troubleshoot why a certain goal or goals didn't work out for you. I hope they were helpful! Let me know if you have other steps to achieve a goal in the comments below!
