3 Things to Consider When Setting a New Goal

Source: Kristin Meekhof

If you're doing a year-end review of your personal and professional accomplishments and feeling like you're falling short, you're not alone. As many as 80 percent of people ditch their New Year's resolutions by February. Not reaching a goal can imply failure, and this feeling can hamper any further efforts to get back on track.

However, before you beat yourself up with negative self-talk, carefully consider why your goal didn't work. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• How realistic was the goal?
• Did something happen (i.e., health concern, caregiving for a loved one) that was out of your control and prevented meeting the deadline?
• Why was this goal set?
• What purpose did my goal serve?

Answering these questions with complete honesty can offer you valuable information and help you better understand why things didn't work out.

Before you set a personal and/or professional goal for the upcoming year, here are three things to consider when choosing a new one.

Set up small wins for yourself each day.

When you create small wins (i.e., doing sit-ups) for yourself early in your day that aren’t necessarily related to your bigger goal, you create momentum, and momentum helps you move forward. Personally, I like to stack a few small wins (i.e., meditation and a few exercises) before I start my workday so that if other stressful things happen that I can't control, I can think about the things that did go right.

What you're doing with small wins is creating confidence, which gives you a feeling of security to tackle other things, like your big goal. Setting yourself up for early wins in the day also gives you a positive feeling. This optimism is often what is needed to carry you on through the work of your bigger goals.

Break the goal down into smaller steps.

Often, big goals can seem out of reach, and this can give you a sense of frustration and overwhelm. However, if you break a big goal into smaller, bite-sized chunks it is often easier to manage and understand. Working on the smaller steps can also silence distractions because you're working for a shorter time period and can focus on one thing.

When I decided I was going to run my first marathon, I had yet to run one mile. I had to literally start with running for one minute. Quickly, each minute added up, and I was able to build on it. Remember, you can still achieve your goal by breaking things up into tiny steps.

Track your progress.

When you track your progress towards a goal, you’re more likely to achieve it. Researchers found that those who monitored their progress were more likely to find success than those who didn’t do it. In an American Psychological Association article, Benjamin Harking, Ph.D., of the University of Sheffield, is quoted as saying, “Monitoring goal progress is a crucial process that comes into play between setting and attaining a goal, ensuring that the goals are translated into action."

What you’re essentially doing with monitoring is creating a way to look at yourself from a different perspective. You’re seeing what is working and what isn’t, and when you’re able to do so without judgment it can be helpful. Remember, tracking your progress is simply giving you information about what is working for you.

Measuring up your goals against others is normal, but keep in mind it can also distract you from your own success. You don't know what is happening behind the scenes. Often, people tend to share a picture of success on social media. They want to be seen in a positive light, and you are only seeing one point of view.

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Reflecting this time of year is natural and getting on with your new goals can be rewarding and healthy. Just don't forget to celebrate your small wins.