The beginning of a year is not the only time to set or evaluate goals. Life happens and circumstances change, especially in 2020! I think that getting half-way through 2020 has shown me more of what the potential the rest of the year has. I'm going to reflect on what my original goals were and make adjustments as needed. I've heard a lot of advise about being okay with not finishing a book you don't enjoy. I'm going to apply that philosophy to my goals and also to remove any that may not be possible this year so that I'm only inspired when I read my goals, not disheartened or under solely a sense of obligation.
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This month was not an ordinary month for almost anyone. It was definitely a trying time for me as well even though I know I did not have it that bad and am very grateful for my current circumstances. However, April still had me in a funk, so it was not anything close to my normal. I even feel like Aprils was "cancelled". I resonate with a meme of The Office when Michael tell Jim to take away April too.
The “Goal Crushing Worksheet” is my favorite resource for breaking down my major goals for the month. I do it for a major goal for each of my top four mission goals. It goes though the acronym “CRUSH IT” which stands for Claim your target, Refine your objective, Understand your motivation, Step it out, Handle obstacles, Implement your plan, Treat yourself. This worksheet encompasses the essential processes for achieving goals.
In the last six months I have had some of my major goals shattered in ways that were beyond my control. It really felt like the rug was ripped from underneath my feet. The world was different. I had to redirect my path even though I really didn't want to. I had emotionally invested in the goal and was working toward it. Now things were different. The path was gone, delayed, or complicated. With all of the recent developments I know there are others in the same boat. I will share about my experiences when my goals were shattered.
Setting goals in my life has two big truths: I am always very excited in December/January and make (overly)ambitious goals and life never quite goals according to the ideal plan.
In January and February there were a number of things (usually I had to work more than anticipated) that made me prioritize my goals and sacrifice progress in one in order to stay on-track for the other. I only have so much time and I won't sacrifice sleep. In fact, I prioritize sleep when I am tired over other activities because I want to listen to my body and I know when I am tired I am less productive and what I do is of significantly less quality. So when I realize that I can't quite do everything that my ambition set out for, it's time to re-calibrate. The “Goal Crushing Worksheet” is my favorite resource for breaking down my major goals for the month. I do it for a major goal for each of my top four mission goals. It goes though the acronym “CRUSH IT” which stands for Claim your target, Refine your objective, Understand your motivation, Step it out, Handle obstacles, Implement your plan, Treat yourself. This worksheet encompasses the essential processes for achieving goals.
I encourage you to listen to episode 37 “How to Make New Year’s Resolutions That You Will Actually Keep This Year” of the Do It Scared Podcast. It will give you a whole new idea about goals, and it goes over the Goal Crushing Worksheet. Also, in my post on my Goal Strategies I cover how I approach my goals. Reflecting on a period of time is a key way to learn and improve. Since I plan and set goals on a monthly basis, I like to also review each month. In my monthly reflection I will reflect on the month in summary, the goals I set for the month, my accomplishments during the month, lessons I learned, and improvements I want to make in the future.
This post is a 2-for-1 special! First, I’ll go over the strategies that I use to keep making progress toward my goals. Then I will do the first of my monthly posts about crushing my big goals for the month.
The “short list” of my goal strategies
Even if you don’t read through this whole post, I encourage you to listen to episode 37 “How to Make New Year’s Resolutions That You Will Actually Keep This Year” of the Do It Scared Podcast. It will give you a whole new idea about New Year’s resolutions and goals. She also goes over her Goal Crushing Worksheet that I will be going through later. Now you have a big dream that both inspires and scares you. It might seem like there is a huge gap between where you are now and where you want to be. It’s hard, but don’t worry about that. Focus on the growth not the gap. As long as you are continually making small progress, you will accomplish amazing things over time! It may take a while to notice it, but whenever you do have progress be sure to recognize it. I’ll touch on how essential that is later in this post.
Have you heard “if your dream doesn’t scare you, it isn’t big enough” before? I know that I have, but it always seems too scary to dream that big. What if I fall short though? What if circumstances out of my control would make my big dream impossible? So, I didn’t shoot for a big, scary dream. Instead, I continued on with my SMART goals that were easily within reach and never really got much further than my ordinary life. I wasn’t inspired enough to do much more than be slightly better than I would have without even the mild SMART goals.
This year I have had many recurring instances when different people expressed the importance of dreaming a big good-scary dream and living so that you don’t die with regrets on what you could have done. It is all too easy at the end of the year to be disappointed about where I am currently or seeing others that have accomplished what I wish I would have this year. This is why I think it is very important to reflect back on this year instead of only focusing on the next goals (or the disappointing act of carrying forward this year's goals into next year. I don't want to focus on every place I fell short, but I want to keep a positive spin that gives myself grace and sets me up for future success. In this blog post I will reflect on my accomplishments and goals met this year, lessons I have learned this year, and what I want to do better next year.
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DisclaimerOther than my partners/affiliates listed on my recommended resources page, I am not affiliated with any product or business other than being a customer, supporter, or member. I am an amateur (with an accounting day job) and do not receive any income from the horse industry. Anything I write about is from my own experiences. Nothing is intended to instruct you in how to act. All horse activities are innately dangerous, so please use caution and understand the risks. Categories
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