It is now mid- February and I’m well into the process of working on the goals I set for myself this year. Wouldn’t it be great if we could say that our goals are progressing as planned and that we have been able to work toward each goal effortlessly?  I sure do!  Unfortunately, progressing toward my goals has not been without a little frustration from time to time, a seemingly constant re-ordering of my schedule and perhaps even a little relational frustration towards me by members of my family.

So, being six weeks into the new year and six weeks of progressing towards the achievement of my annual goals allows me the perfect time to reflect on where I am, how I am doing, and what tweaks need to be made in pursuing my goals.  As I reflect over the past six weeks I have learned a few crucial lessons in the keeping eyes on and attaining of my goals:

1 – Measure (and reward yourself) for completing the small goals leading to the big goals.  In an earlier post I discussed how there needs to be small, measurable goals leading to the ultimate goal.  These smaller goals serve as guideposts and mile markers on the path to accomplishing our annual goals.  As I go back over my progress thus far, I can clearly see that I have indeed accomplished a number of my smaller goals – this is something to celebrate!  We can acknowledge the fact that we have broken the inertia that fights to keep us from making progress.  We can look at ourselves in the mirror and be proud that we are on our way to accomplishing what we set out to complete.

2 – Remember that the year has just begun and there is another 9.5 months to complete our goals.  I am a “closed Loop” person – I love to see things to completion and will work tirelessly to ensure a job is completed before I can rest.  Though this is a good trait when managing tasks, this trait can hamper our drive to accomplish long term goals.  Closed loop folks like myself often feel behind or that they are not making progress if the goal is not accomplished immediately, and this can cause us to despair.  As I have struggled with this frustration I go back to looking over my smaller goals, noting where I currently stand, and then remind myself that the goals I set were goals that were to be accomplished in a year – not in a month.  Show grace to yourself.

3 – Ask yourself “Why”. Robert Duhigg in “Smarter, Faster, Better” discusses in depth the reason behind asking ourselves why – why are we doing this?  Duhigg has found that giving yourself a reason why provides us an impetus to succeed.  A drive that sees us all through the hardest challenges.  From POWs to abuse victims, when asked how they survived – a common thread appeared.  They were able to answer why – why should I continue to live.  And while the why behind my goals is not as desperate as a POW or abuse victim, I still need to answer why I am waking up at 5:00 AM or spending three hours of my day running.

Wherever you are in the process of your goals for this year, I hope you are progressing well.  If you are struggling, take heart and look at the progress you have made thus far, ask why, and remember – we have set the goal and we have started the journey.  Taking the first few steps, and repeating those steps, over and over again, is how we will reach the goal.  It’s never too late to begin again.