Resetting Your Goals
As the saying goes, s*** happens. And right now, there’s a lot of s*** happening. So, the goals I set at the end of last year have taken a bit of a turn. But how do I reevaluate and reset my goals? Let’s talk about it.
But first, let’s briefly go over goal setting in general. It’s pretty simple, you think about where you want to be in 3 months, 1 year, 3 years, and at the end of your career (and personal life too). And then think of specific ways you can work towards meeting these goals. There are plenty of apps that help you with goal tracking. I personally don’t use goal tracking apps, so I don’t have any recommendations. But I do use my Passion Planner and SMART goals
When I’m reevaluating and resetting my goals, I ask myself the following three questions:
Is this still something I care about? It can be easy to fall into the trap of being laser focused on crossing something off your checklist, that you forget to ask yourself if you even care. As an added layer, you may be someone who prides themselves on not being a “quitter.” But let me tell you something… I love quitting. LOL. Just kidding. It’s true, but not what I was going to say. You don’t need to be wasting your precious time meeting goals that don’t serve you anymore. Let’s say that louder for the people in the back:
DON’T WASTE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME MEETING GOALS THAT DON’T SERVE YOU ANYMORE.
What did I learn? So maybe you didn’t meet your goals. That’s OK. You aimed for the stars and may have missed the mark this time, but what were you able to catch on the way down? What did you learn on the journey? What did you learn about yourself? If you are able to learn from the experience, you’ll be better equipped to meet your goals the next time.
What’s my new goal? If you completely scrapped your goal, the world is your oyster! Find a new goal that excites you, that pushes you, that helps you grow into the person you are meant to be. If you still care about your original goal, it’s time to revise it. Maybe you just need more time to finish the goal, maybe you want to explore a different facet, or maybe you need to map out a new game plan. Take what you learned so far to rewrite your goal into something worthwhile and achievable.
While I think I did a pretty good job at explaining the thought process above, I think all of this still feels very abstract. This post could benefit from some actual examples, so let me share two examples from my own personal goals for this year.
Let’s start with an example of a goal I still care about. One of my goals this year was to have a total net savings (including retirement accounts) of a specific dollar amount. This is one step in a long-term goal for financial independence and retiring early. But due to new unexpected financial responsibilities and uncertainty in job growth, my carefully laid out plan has gone to s***. Question One, I do still care about this. Question Two, I learned that my plan does not account for emergencies or variability, which in hindsight is idiotic. Question Three, my new goal is to do the best I can with saving this year and to revise my long term plan to account for the unpredictability of life.
Now, for a goal I don’t care about anymore. Another one of my goals this year was to lose a few pounds. I have a “smart” scale and the app tells me that I’m fat and will die of fat butt disease. So I’ve started running and doing pilates regularly, but I don’t think it’s possible to meet my goal. Question One, I still want to be healthy, but I actually don’t care about this number anymore. Question Two, I learned that the app is completely incorrect. The doctor says my weight is good. I also learned that losing pounds didn’t really bring me the sense of accomplishment that improving in my strength did. Question Three, my new goal is to work on improving my running times. I have already knocked 90 seconds off my mile pace in just a few months, and I feel super proud of myself!