#27: Hitting This Year's Goals

It’s early 2015 and I’ve got big goals. I’ve even stuck a colour coded timetable on my wall and stayed up watching several motivational vids on YouTube. “This year’s going to be different!”

Monday starts badly. A little blurry eyed, I spill my cereal. Then the first task on my schedule takes 3 hours instead of 1. I’m already up against it! Things continue to spiral and by the third day, my colour coded timetable is staring at me with an accusatory look. 

A couple of weeks later, I sheepishly fold up the timetable and hide it in my bottom drawer. Feeling like a failure I ask “Why does this always happen? What’s wrong with me?”

The problem, as it turns out was not with me or the goalsetting per se. The chosen goals were solid and having goals or aims are vital, as they help provide clarity and purpose. 

Challenging yourself is also a key aspect of mental health. Renowned psychotherapist, Viktor Frankl espoused the benefits of a certain degree of tension, between where one is and what is left to be accomplished. “Such a tension is inherent in the human being and therefore is indispensable to mental well-being.”

The issues were in fact twofold. Firstly, I was trying to change everything all at once. James Clear noted, “Excellence isn’t ‘radical change’, but instead small actions repeated consistently.” 

Trying to change your whole life in one go, is destined for failure. We have too many routines and habits already in place. Ideally, we can work with what is already there in a process of evolution rather than revolution. We are trying to make the changes as easy and simple as possible for us to achieve, so that they stick.

Secondly, my plan was inflexible. Our lives are unpredictable and complex. We are often optimistic about our ability to do a task in a period of time and new problems or opportunities crop up every day. 

We’re also not machines and need to allow for different energy and focus levels on certain days. I needed a flexible timetable that gave me structure, but also allowed for adaptability.

WISDOM 💎

“The winners and losers have the same goals.”

Goals don’t differentiate success, systems do.

James Clear

Tip 1 - A SMART PLAY ✅

Take a big goal and break it down into daily or weekly process goals. If your goal is to run a marathon this year, perhaps your weekly process goals involve 2 short runs and 1 long weekend run, alongside 5 minutes of foam rolling each night. Falling in love with the journey and adapting as you go is key.

Tip 2 - AVOID 🚩

Being inflexible or aiming for perfection. Goals may change with new information and a good process should definitely change with new information, as we learn what works for us. Focus more on the effort than the outcome from individual tasks.

Tip 3 - ACTION 💪

Take one of your yearly goals and write 3 weekly process goals that can help you achieve this. Pick suitable slots in your schedule and start off small - consistency beats intensity or duration. Finally, always remember to have some fun with it!

“Life is too important to be taken seriously.”

Oscar Wilde