Goal achievement is something that we all struggle with at some point or another in our lives. Sometimes it’s a matter of feeling like there isn’t enough time to ever get it all done. Other times, we can feel like we don’t even know where to get started. Whatever the reason is, it can often feel like our goals are only meant to be dreams we think about every once and awhile.
The reality is that we can overcome the difficulties that present themselves. A couple of weeks ago I did a webinar where I spoke about 5 challenges to achieving our goals and how to overcome them. It isn’t always easy, but it is possible. Here are the 5 difficulties I spoke about:
One of the biggest challenges to achieving our goals is overwhelm. It can feel like there are so many things to do and not enough time in the day to get it all done. Let’s face it; most of us don’t have the opportunity to dedicate our entire day to our goals. We’ve got responsibilities to take care that require our time and attention beyond our goals. The best way to avoid overwhelm is to break our goals down into manageable chunks that feel doable. Your goals are meant to stretch and inspire you, not overwhelm and frustrate you!
These days it can be so easy to get caught up in shiny object syndrome! With social media and the ability to binge watch stuff on Netflix, there is no short supply of things we can do to get sucked down the rabbit hole of procrastination. We can also find ourselves wasting time on the minor things that our outside our expertise instead of focusing our time on the things that we do well. I know I’ve found myself caught up in figuring out things on my website instead of just asking for help! One of my mantras for this year has been just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I should. It’s made quite a difference!
If you have control issues like I do, it can be a challenge to be open to going off script. I often have to remind myself that when I created the plan, I couldn’t possibly be aware of all of the ways that it could happen. If I can accept that fact and remain focused on the end goal, then remaining open to the opportunities to get me there becomes easier. If you’ve heard me talk about goal achievement before, you know I like to think of it like a road trip. When you’re on the road and encounter a road closure, you don’t give up on getting to your final destination. You just seek an alternate path. I thing we have to use the same approach when it comes to our goals.
Trying to do make our goals a reality on our own can be a very isolating experience. The bigger our dreams, the more help we need to make them a reality. I’m not saying we can’t achieve our goals on our own, but it will be a lot harder and take a lot more time! Have a positive support system provides us with people who can encourage us when we need it and give us some tough love and a kick up the behind when needed as well. Sometimes we don’t have the right people in our lives to provide the support we need, so we have to be prepared to expand our circle to bring the right people in.
I think that this can be our biggest challenge to making our goals a reality. When we allow fear in the driver’s seat, we don’t take the action necessary to get things done. Our fear of failure can leave us stuck in analysis paralysis that we struggle to shake for days, weeks, months or even years. If there’s one thing I’ve realized, it’s that if you’re looking for an excuse not to do something, you’ll always find one. That’s why it’s important to be aware of our beliefs, the ones that serve us and the ones that don’t. Once we know that, we can leverage the ones that help us in the pursuit of our goals and work on releasing the ones that don’t.
There are always going to be challenges that present themselves as we work towards achieving our goals. It’s an inevitable part of the journey. The good news is that there is always a way to overcome them, you just have to be patient with yourself and with the process!I’m launching my Hurdle Jumping: 101 course on Monday April 8th! In this 6-week program we’ll be working on developing tools and techniques that will allow you to stay focused regardless of what life throws at you! Learn more when you visit https://hurdlejumping101.paperform.co/ and by watching the video above.