Q4 has begun, which means this is the last quarter, the last 90 days of the year. Those who are working in corporate or other businesses, the goals are per quarter, and Q4 is one of the most important ones. We assess how the business is closing the year, and how to get started the next year.
For ourselves personally, it’s great to assess this as well.
What are the goals you are pursuing until the end of the year?
Where are you putting the last effort?
It is like if you go on a run. You run like fire when you finally see the finish line, right?
Completing our goals is about the same!
RUN!!! It’s time to meet one of your goals!
NOOOOO!!! Don’t give up!!
GOOOOO!!!!
(It sounds like when I am shouting to my son when he is playing soccer and talking the ball to the goal! 🙂 )
Here, it is the same! I am rooting for you to go after your goals!
And if you didn’t get exactly where you expected, it is okay! You got closer than you were before!
Just like soccer, if my son doesn’t score within that play, it is okay. We, the parents, still clap and cheer for him, and are so happy that he got closer to scoring. The team now has the advantage.
Following your goals, and keeping yourself in the game is quite challenging. Look what research is saying,
According to the University of Scranton, 92 percent of people who set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them. Only 8 percent are goal-achievers.
This means you are not alone! But, let’s be real, don’t you want to be part of those 8%?
You can do so many things, and achieve any goal you challenge yourself to!!
There are so many great resources that can help you along the way, if you are truly determined to achieve your goals. Just Google it and it all comes to you.
I have my own theory, and it is pretty basic. It is based on a mom’s life. It is the crazy, busy women in modern society who want it all! The Superwoman of the world, who may not have time to achieve her own goals. Maybe she never even got around to setting goals for herself.
She may have set goals for her children, her spouse, her home. She’s they’re biggest supporter and cheerleader. But what about her?
Do you recognize this person? I know, me too!
The reason why women in the modern society fall short with their goals are:
- Too busy
The daily agenda is full of children drop offs and pickups, sports, chores, appointments, meal preparation, cleaning. If the woman has a job, she needs to manage her boss, perhaps a team, and all the meetings during the day. Where does she find time to set and pursue goals that are not in this agenda? Too busy!
- Lack of clarity of the desired goal
Women are strong, and I have seen such a powerhouse going after the impossible. But there is a different obstacle to tackle before you even get started on your goal. CLARITY of what you want. Clarity of your purpose. Belief in the roadmap to achieve a certain goal. When you are in this space, there is no one who will stop you.
- Overwhelming to think about giving the first step
The first step!! Damn it! Should I go or should I stay?
It looks too far away to go. It looks unmanageable to get started. It is hard to take the first step, I know. We have to put ourselves out there and it is quite a challenge. Sometimes it is boring, requires resilience, determination. Act as if you have a lion roaring behind you, pushing you forward.
Do you want to be a part of the 92% who don’t achieve the goals they set on New Years? Next year is very close. 2022 is coming.
Are you going to do the same again? Set goals, fill the blanks with excuses, and good ones. Good excuses that look acceptable, and relieve you of the guilt for not doing it.
But is that sustainable? I know so many people who come to me saying they feel their goal is missing something. They feel impatient. They want quick results and when it doesn’t happen quick enough, they let it go.
If you are up for breaking this pattern, I have a simple tip: Go small, not big.
You can call it baby steps. Babies fall, but it’s not a big fall, and the decision to get back up again is faster than staying still. Right?
So lets start:
CHOOSE ONE GOAL
If you don’t know what to do, choose something that gives you joy, you are testing your determination.
GET CLARITY AND TAKE ACTION
What is the goal and how much time do you need to achieve it? Start out with something simple. It doesn’t need to be something that changes all your habits, or completely changes the dynamic of your family. That may be too overwhelming to start with, which can lead to the goal not being met. Choose one thing that is tangible, can be marked as complete, like having all the Christmas gifts purchased by the end of November, or get the perfect cake for Thanksgiving dinner, or losing 5 pounds, or read 2 books. If you want to go a bit further, why not try doing the 75 hard? (There is still time!)
Just do one thing. It requires planning and effort on your end, but it will give you joy or maybe even bring you closer to accomplishing one of your long-time goals, like eating healthy. “Eating healthy” is a very vague goal. What does that mean? What does that look like? Get specific. My goal is to have 1 smoothie each morning, 5X times a week.
I went to my annual physical, and it was frightening telling her the truth. I am exercising, drinking water, reducing the amount of wine per week (now only 1X), but the food and vitamins are not on track!
So I decided, I need to do ONE THING right now during my diet. I don’t think I do everything wrong, but I do eat bread and butter almost every day with my second coffee. Bread and butter is my favorite treat. One of my favorites is toast with butter, which is so Portuguese! It’s one of those habits I need to unlearn! But how can I unlearn something which gives me so much pleasure?
So I decided, 5X a week, I will have a smoothie instead. It can be a small smoothie, but it’s something which makes me proud in the morning! Why am I doing it 5 times a week and not 7? To give some margin for failure and a chance to catch up if I missed a day.
Eating healthy is on my Vision Board. Unfortunately, this was a goal I had left behind, having great excuses for not doing it right. I didn’t feel we ate that bad, and this was my biggest excuse! I know we need to eat healthier, but I rationalized continuing my old habits by telling myself our eating habits weren’t that bad. They could be so much worse!
But I wanted to do much better, and that’s the path I’ve set myself on.
So…a smoothie a day will get the doctor away!
I hope this gets you inspired to take on the challenge until the end of the year and accomplish that goal you may have pushed aside until now!
To help you to set your ONE Goal, download your Vision Board for 2022 here, and get started!
Take care,
AnnaJo
