January 17th is 'Ditch your New Years Resolution Day' which means that 'statistically' many people will have already ditched their resolutions just 17 days into the new year.
You may be reading this blog midway through the year.
The question remains the same.
Have you ditched your NY Resolutions?
If you have set a well-detailed goal, and you have worked out how to achieve it, with a level of investment and involvement that is manageable then it is likely that you will be gaining momentum.
You will be starting to feel that you are establishing a new routine that includes activities that take you closer to your goals.
Does this sound like you?
The positive approach to regularly checking in with your goals progress is that if you do feel that you are starting to waiver in your efforts, then it is a good time to review the goals that you have set and ask yourself a couple of questions;
Is it actually what you want?
Is it realistic and achievable?
Is it in alignment with your values?
Does it take you closer to being the person you want to become and the life you want to live?
I have written several blogs where the theme has been setting goals, and how best to achieve them. You may have even attended one of the workshops to learn more or heard me talk about it on the #Fire5atPhoenix podcast.
Through any of these channels, you will have heard me talk about how the desire to change, must be more than the desire to stay the same.
Change is hard work, it takes both mental and physical energy in addition to the emotional investment required to achieve success.
The status quo has to feel painful enough to make the change feel worth it and for you to put drive and energy to move you into a new 'normal'.
We set goals for various reasons; however, it is essential to look at why we want to achieve them, why it is important (values and needs), and the benefits of achieving success.
If we don't identify these, then our comfort zone and the zone we know and are familiar with, becomes more attractive, and so we slow down the effort and energy because it is easier to stay the same.
Is it actually what you want?
When you achieve your goal how will it look?
How will it feel?
What will be different?
How will you be different?
What new behaviours will you have?
What old behaviours will you have left behind?
How do you feel when you think about achieving your goal?
The answers to these questions should all be positive. For many goals, it is a long journey to achieve the goals we have set.
Long journeys of long days and many decisions.
If we do not feel that the end goal is worth it, then we will take the easy route, and the easy route may take us off the path to success.
As an example, if you were training for a marathon; Visualise how you successfully completing a marathon will look.
It is also important to visualise other elements of achieving this goal.
How does crossing the finishing line look?
How will you feel?
What will be different about you after your months of training?
How will you be different?
What behaviours will you have learned during the training months?
What old behaviours will you have left behind?
How might this impact other areas of your life?
When you visualise how this looks and feels you will start to feel positive emotions and quite possibly a small rush of adrenaline/excitement too!
This is what you need to remind yourself of on nights when it is cold, dark and raining, and your schedule says you have an 8-mile run to do. Reminding yourself of this is what will help you put your trainers on and get going. Thinking about the success, pride and sense of achievement is what will get you past mile 6.
Too many people think about what their goal is, without really thinking about what achieving success means or how they can work towards it alongside or amongst their other life commitments.
Is it achievable?
It needs to be challenging enough to give you that sense of excitement and the intrinsic motivation to drive you forward, but not too challenging that it doesn’t seem achievable so you get a sense of overwhelm and jack it all in or look for reasons to pause.
If it doesn’t feel achievable what do you need to change to ensure that it does?
Do you need to change the size of the goal, for example, a half marathon instead of a full marathon or do you need to reset the timescale so a race in September rather than one in March?
Look at the amount of involvement and investment needed. Check that you are able to commit to this without negative impact. What are you prepared to invest? How much mental and physical energy can you realistically give without risking burnout?
Keep adjusting until you look at what you have set out to achieve and feel that sense of excitement where you want to just get started rather than a sense of dread!
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These are the two main points. There are lots of others and I have covered many of them off in other blogs so feel free to click to browse the blog pages.
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As one last pointer:
Record, reflect and review. Make sure you are writing all this down!
On the days where you are struggling most, it is often inspiring to look back to see how much you have already achieved.
You can also use your record to review your progress and check you are on track!
Don't Ditch it - Enrich it
**Further support **
If you would like further support with setting and achieving your goals then check the website for free resources, as well as online programmes, events and workshops.
If you aren’t sure which is best for you then book in a clarity call and we can discuss what you want to achieve and how Phoenix can support you to confidently live the life you choose.
First published 01.18
v2. 01.19
v3. 01.20
v4. 01.21