Alright. Checking in again. We’re 18 days in. How are those goals going? Obviously I’ve been thinking a lot about goals recently. I’ve been curious about why we reach them and why we don’t. In my last post I talked about how to reframe goals as growth. How will you grow as you work towards your goal?
Well, let’s start with this: how do you even define a goal to begin with? How do you figure out what your goal actually is? Something I realized is that it can’t be forced upon you. It has to be something you truly want. Nothing involving outside pressure.
A great current example is “Dry January.” A lot of people decide to stop drinking for a month after indulging more than normal during the month of December. All those holiday parties, just trying to get through the holidays, whatever it is. So the “I will not drink for an entire month!” goal is set. Woohoo. Great! High five. But if you feel pressured into something like that because everyone around you is doing it, or you think you “should” do it … your success rate is less likely.
The key is to know your WHY. Eye roll. I know, I know. But it’s true. Why have you decided not to drink? Because your best friend made that choice? Good luck with that. (and if you succeed with that being the primary motivator, hats off to you! Bravo!) A more meaningful reason might be: you have decided not to drink because you want to see what your energy levels are like, the clarity of mind you have, the better sleep you get, whatever it is that you benefit from by cutting out the alcohol … all those reasons are more meaningful to you personally and will help you through those moments of weakness.
The second thing you need to be clear on is your HOW. How are you going to reach that goal? Let’s take Dry January as an example again. What steps will you take to help you be more successful? Maybe you replace your glass of wine at night with a bubbly non-alcoholic beverage or herbal tea. Maybe you challenge yourself to experiment with mocktails or avoid wine bars or happy hours completely. Whatever it is, you need to have your “how” in place, too.
So take a moment to think about both those things. Where there’s a will there’s a way? Or…
“Find your way and you’ll find your way.”
~John C. Maxwell
It’s about the why and the how. You got this. Keep growing and go crush those goals.