Setting Goals Aside
The plans were all laid out, each a week a small, achievable goal based on what I already knew I had been able to accomplish several times before. Everything looked so nice on paper. I knew if I just showed up to get the work done, I’d be seeing the finished project in no time.
Only the first couple of weeks didn’t go as planned. I showed up but my creativity didn’t. I put forth what I could come up with, however minimal it was, but it still was not enough to spur on what I needed to get the project done.
I decided to stretch my goals and timeline out a bit farther. Maybe my previous abilities just wouldn’t work in this season, so I gave myself grace to spread out and take my time. Only, it still didn’t work, nothing came and no excitement or mental energy could be drummed up for the task ahead of me. I tried to walk away for a few weeks, and hoped maybe the break would refuel the passion I once had, but even that didn’t help.
Finally, I did what I personally hate doing as a perfectionist and someone who wants to complete things no matter the effort required - I pushed it aside. With a heavy sigh, I crossed off all of those well meaning plans I had made, and said “no” to completing this goal, at least for now. I pushed it ahead to the future with only a question mark for its status. In walking away, I thought I would feel the disappointment of not being able to achieve my goals in my original timeline, but instead I felt relief. It no longer took up mental space or created anxiety when I wasn’t able to perform in the way I thought I should. The doors opened up more easily for other opportunities, and I took advantage of those instead.
Sometimes letting go of a goal is not the bad thing we think it will be. Instead, it provides us with the space and time for other things that we may not have been able to make priorities if we had stuck to the original goal. Also, it may mean that now is just not the season for us to pursue a certain goal if the motivation, passion, and determination is just not there no matter how hard we try to convince ourselves we can do it.
The good news is that even if goals are put to the side for now, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be continued when the time is right. Sometimes we have to learn things through the dry spells that will ultimately influence our lives for good and may even end up bringing us a new and fresh perspective that will make accomplishing the goal much easier. I believe things happen for a reason, and many seeds are planted in the waiting. When you learn patience with your goals and yourself, then you might be pleasantly surprised by what blooms in the right season.
Challenges/Points:
Sometimes we are unable to accomplish our goals no matter how hard we try. When this happens, putting them to the side may be the best way to go.
Life happens in ways that change our original plans, and sometimes it is better to pay attention to what is going on around us, including other opportunities, and place our original plans on hold.
By picking our goals back up at a later time, we may find that we learned something we hadn’t known before or can approach a goal with a fresh perspective that we didn’t have the first time around.
Questions:
Is there any goal in your life right now that feels impossible to complete? If so, take some time to consider why. Have your priorities or passion changed? What would happen if you took a break from pursuing it?
Can you recall a time in your life when you had to wait for a new season to bring a spark of creativity or motivation? What were some things that happened in the waiting?
What are the benefits and disadvantages of putting your goal(s) aside for the time being? What kind of feelings do you think you would experience if you put a goal on hold?
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