Stuck in a Rut? 5 Ways to Get Back to Slaying Your Goals

We’ve officially finished the first quarter of 2021. How are you doing on your goals so far? Did you come out of the blocks strong? If you’re anything like me then you’re struggling to find your footing.

I started the year with the best of intentions. I laid out my goals using my digital worksheet and I was anticipating a strong first quarter. Although I did accomplish one goal, I spent too much time and energy on it and I neglected the other things I had planned. Because of all of the things I didn’t make leeway on I spent 3 days feeling like a total failure. Then I had to shake that ish off because that type of defeatest thinking isn’t helpful.

Achieving your goals is all about being flexible and shifting your perspective. I realized that this is my journey, and I will navigate it at whatever pace I want. All that I didn’t do in Q1 is an opportunity for me to work on it in Q2. If you’re needing to get out of a rut and make a pivot as well consider making these adjustments.

Suspend the belief of instant success – Achieving success is like tending a garden. You don’t expect to see a full bloom the day after you plant the seeds. It takes time and effort, with more emphasis on the time part. That can be hard to grapple with especially because we are constantly being bombarded on social media with images of successful people who achieved viral fame or of “experts” telling us how to achieve success within a specific time frame. These types of messaging skew our expectations. I’d encourage you to put as much focus on the journey as you do the destination. This will help alleviate the need to have instant gratification.
Don’t give up, just try a different approach – Just because you didn’t achieve the desire results or things aren’t going the way you planned doesn’t mean you need to abandon the goal. It simply means you need to try a different approach. The path to success isn’t linear. Sometimes we find the right groove along the curves of our journey. Be open to flexibility in both approach of the plan and in your attitude. Sometimes we start on a journey and realize that we actually want something entirely different. Being flexible allows you to take off the blinders and make way for other opportunities to accomplish the goal.
Ask for help – Just because your goal is personal and specific to you doesn’t mean you have to accomplish it alone. The quickest way to get burned out is to overwork yourself. Make a list of things others could help you with. Hire a virtual assistant or ask an expert. Time is valuable and you don’t want to spend it spinning your wheels on tasks that you could delegate or have someone help you maximize your time and effort.
Remove distractions – I know exactly the things that can easily derail me from working on my goals. With that in mind, I know what I need to do to eliminate and remove those distractions. Make an observation of all the physical and mental things that keep you distracted from working on your goals and figure out avenues to remove them. Having a clear mind will help tacking tasks easier.
Celebrate the small win – Achieving the goal is the ultimate destination but it takes several smaller steps in order to achieve the bigger one. Each time one of those smaller steps is achieved take the time to celebrate. This means that you’re one step closer to making it happen. It also helps to relieve the daunting and overwhelming feeling you can get when trying to achieve a massive goal. Breaking up a goal into smaller measurable tasks is easier to contend with.

In a world in which we can get things delivered to our door in a matter of minutes, it’s easy to believe that accomplishing a goal should work the same way. But success does not happen overnight. It takes time and patient to see things come to fruition. I believe that you have everything inside of you to see things through. So as we enter this second quarter of the year. Take the time to refocus and realign.