Here we are, ready to end the first quarter of the year. It’s time to assess how things have been going for your career or your business, as well as your life. Remember when you set those big goals at the end of last year with every intention of making 2016 your best yet?
Well, it’s now time to face the music. The bad news will be if you have not done any of them; the good news is there is always a ‘do-over’ which means you can re-plan and re-start over. As we are ready to embrace a new month and the season of Spring, why not use this as your ‘springboard’ to making them happen. So grab that paper where you wrote your goals (you did, right?) and answer the following questions:
- What were the goals you set? As banal as this sounds, you might not remember what or how you said them, which does impact taking action – if goals are too large they can be overwhelming while goals that are too small will not motivate. Look at the exact words you wrote and see if the meaning and intent is still there
- Which goals did you work on or accomplish? Why were these compelling to you?
- Which goals did you overlook or ignore? Why were these unattractive to you?
- Which goals do you want to keep and move forward with? In the same manner, which goals do you want to let go of?
- How could you re-write any of the goals to reflect your current situation (as things may have changed since you originally wrote them) to make them more motivating so that you will take the needed steps to get them accomplished?
- Do you need to re-prioritize the goals so they are more manageable?
- Do you need to get any support to reach them; for example, if your goal is to get a promotion in the next three months, you may need to hire a career coach to help you plan your steps out, or hire a resume writer to update and have a more compelling resume
- Did you set start and end-dates for your goals and do you need to update them now?
Once you answer these questions, you can now rewrite, reframe, and reschedule any remaining (or new) goals. Put them in your calendar, tell others of your plans, put them in a visible spot where you can see them, and get the needed support to give you the accountability and get working on them or done. You don’t have to be a slave to your goals but without them, you will be a slave to the woulda-coulda-shouldas, which only leads to continual frustration and regret.
Remember, you also don’t have to do all of them at once but getting them all down gives you the bigger picture of a life plan. Start with the one goal you prioritized as the most important, working on it daily until this becomes a habit and then move on to the next. Celebrate your efforts and any results you get, which are continual motivators themselves. Soon, your life will be better because of your positive efforts. Welcome April!
If you’d like help with goal-setting and moving forward, call today for your complementary Discovery Session to learn more: http://www.cyscoaching.com.
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