Why you are not accomplishing your Goals
How many of you made a New Year’s Resolution this year hoping that 2021 would harvest better fruit than 2020? How long did it take before you hit a snag in your goal and gave up? You are not alone in this struggle. 92% of New Year’s resolutions fail. There could be a number of contributing factors to this statistic. The goals that are set could be unrealistic or the timeframe to complete the goal too short. We also tend to get excited about the prospect of the finish and get discouraged with the reality of the process.
The hardest part of a goal is the middle.
It is also the longest part of any goal. Let's use the example of training to run a marathon. You make the plan to run a specific amount of miles every day. You may even go out and buy yourself a brand new pair of shoes. Day one begins and you run one mile. The plan to achieve your goal has officially started. The end of your goal is crossing the finish line, literally. All the rest of the days in between quantify as the middle. And what happens in the middle of this plan? You have to deal with the blisters that come with a new pair of shoes. Your muscles become sore and you have to make the decision to work through it or give up. You also have to make sure you are still setting aside that time every day to run for the practice. You work on building up your endurance and run longer every single day.
Let's think about some other reasons that you might fail to reach your goal and how to overcome those obstacles.
You only made a promise to yourself, which is easier to break.
Think about it. If you promise to have dinner with a friend you are far less likely to cancel on them than if you promised yourself you were going to go out to dinner alone. No one is holding you accountable for a promise you have made to yourself. So if you want to lose weight, make a pact with a friend to meet each other at the gym. If you are trying to stop cutting, give a friend/parent permission to look at your arms every week. If you have to go to the gym twice a week as part of your self-care routine but have to do it alone, take a selfie and send it to a friend and give them permission to nag you if they don’t receive the pictures.
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Your time frame may be unrealistic.
Let’s face it, a goal of losing 50lbs in a month is ridiculous. So are all of those Pinterest challenges to drop a dress size in a week. Don’t buy into the easy quick fix. If you are going to accomplish a goal, there should be some sense of accomplishment and that usually requires some work. Set small goals with small time frames. Try losing 2 lbs in a week. If you can accomplish that, try 5 lbs a month. Try a goal of going to the gym one day a week instead of five. As you are able to accomplish these small goals, you can move on to slightly bigger goals. If you fail at one goal, try changing the parameters of the goal and start again.
Lack of motivation.
This is a big one for me. Inspirations quotes like “Just do it” are all fine and good if that is what motivates you, but if you are like me I need a reason behind why I am going to do what I need to do. Money is a great motivator to make me show up to work on time. Looking good in a swimsuit, however, is not a good enough reason to make me give up chocolate. Find a reason behind why you are working on a goal that is powerful enough to carry you through the rough spots. Write it down and make it visible.
Written by Sharla Ball
