How will I react if I don’t achieve one of my goals this year?

We’re halfway through 2021. I had to take a minute when I realized that.

If you set goals on a new year cycle, you have about 6 months to lose, win, start, leave, grow, or generally move the needle.

If you set goals on a more ad hoc basis or don’t have a formal process, there are surely things in and on your mind you’d like to change or achieve.

Pick one.

How important is it to you?

If you’re like me, it depends. There’s a range from “eh, that’d be nice to have” to “I’m going to obsessively throw money, time, and energy at this thing until it’s fixed.”

Goals you set then don’t do the follow-through tell us about our priorities. Our results- the way we’re living now- reflect our choices and how we’ve arranged our lives.

That’s not good or bad. It’s only a problem if you think it’s a problem.

It’s a problem when we fall short of our aspirations because we didn’t intentionally plan, do the work, and check-in with ourselves along the way. Disappointment can build and eat away our trust and confidence in ourselves to do hard things.

So this week’s journal prompt* can be useful to catch ourselves early. With that one goal in mind…

How will I react if I don’t achieve INSERT GOAL this year?

If little emotion comes up, maybe considering shifting to something more important to you? Over the years, my goals have been cluttered with “should” do items that I didn’t really care much about. None of us benefit from the distraction or vague feelings of guilt. If you need permission to delete or put these on the back burner, you got mine.

If the thought of not reaching that goal creates a sickening seed of disappointment in your stomach, you have an opportunity. What are you doing right now to get there? What’s working, what are you learning? What next step could you take to build some momentum? What core element of that goal are you willing to go for no matter what? How does your plan get you there?

“Regret is mostly caused by not having done anything.” - Charles Bukowski