When your personal goals run away from you, do this to catch them
No plan is perfect.
Try as we may to set meaningful goals, life has a funny way of reminding us that we’re not always in control.
We get distracted. We get overwhelmed. We get detached. We give up.
That’s the vicious cycle that leaves many of us feeling as though we’ve failed.
A week passes. A month. A year. Ten.
The goals we once had have disappeared out of view. They’ve become someone else’s goals. They’ve become someone else’s dreams.
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But here’s the thing—people are resilient.
You and I were built to do great things.
When things don’t go our way, we have the power to get up and try again.
If we lose sight of our goals, we can get them back.
I know, because it happened to me.
Goals gone wild
In early 2022, I laid out several major goals—a creative one, a healthy one, and an intellectual one.
I’ve talked before about the importance of checking in quarterly to see how we’re doing with our goals.
This time though, when I checked in for a mid-year recap, I realized that I had been completely neglecting one of my major goals—reading.
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In 2020 and 2021, I read a total of 52 books. That averages out to about a book every two weeks.
In that time, I absorbed a mountain of ideas about performance, self-development, burnout, creativity, negotiation, business, productivity, wellness, and so on.
The mini-mentorships I gained from reading helped me cultivate a better life for myself and I had planned to continue that into 2022 as well.
As of the end of June 2022, I’ve read 4 books—9 fewer than the same time the year before.
Yikes.
The first quarterly check in didn’t catch the drop off, but the second one did.
My goal had raced away from me.
What did I do to catch it?
I followed these four reliable steps that have always helped me get back on track as well as what this looked like for my particular goal gone wild.
How to Catch Your Runaway Goals
Step #1 — Revisit your (annual, quarterly, weekly) goals
The first step is to dial into our initial goal. How was it worded? What were the specific actions we planned to take to successfully manage it?
For me, I realized that I had added an additional requirement to my 2022 goal. I told myself that I would only read the next book until I had made a mini review of it for myself that I could look back on later. This one detail changed how I was looking at the goal. It gave me analysis paralysis and made the goal far more challenging.
Step #2 — Evaluate what is working and what isn’t
The next step is to take a hard look at performance. Ideally, this is purely data-driven. If we track our goals with numbers, we can objectively evaluate our progress because the progress is measurable. Did something happen (good or bad) in our lives to lead us off the path of our goal?
For me, I found solace knowing that I was starting to highlight in the books I was reading. While it originally brought me great anxiety to “deface” my books, I recognized that they were my copies and I should use them to benefit me and my work whenever possible.
However, I also realized that I was spending more time with friends online after work playing video games during the times when I was most likely to read. That combined with an overly complicated “book review format” I had created for myself to jot down the details of every chapter read, created roadblocks between me and my reading.
Step #3 — Identify ways to reduce the friction to your goals
After we have revealed why our goals aren’t succeeding, we can take a closer look at what we can do to make them easier.
For me, I simplified the reports. I still wanted a way to log important details about the books that I could look back on for my personal and creative needs.
I also switched back to reading audiobooks. Or is it listening to? (My wife says , “learning” audiobooks is also acceptable) I thought that in order to get the most out of reading, I needed to see the visual formatting of the pages. What aligned with my goal though was to take in the ideas, regardless of format.
Step #4 — Rework or tweak your goals as needed, but don’t discard them
Shaping a goal to integrate better into our lives is far more beneficial than giving it up altogether. We need to allow for some of life to impact our goals, without letting life completely break them.
For me, I changed my goal to read at least 10 pages (or 30 minutes of an audiobook) each day and to write a brief synopsis for myself before moving on to the next. In this way, I could make a little bit of progress each day and not go crazy doing so.
Side Note: Since I completed this exercise for my own goal gone wild, I've read two books in two weeks and found a rekindled passion towards achieving my goal. I very much wish the same for you.
Final Thoughts
One of the most difficult things I’ve found in relation to goal setting is how to balance the results I’m looking to achieve with the life I’m living right now.
I believe wholeheartedly in the benefits of pursuing a better self, but not at the total disregard of who I am today.
Life, when not lived in the moment, is not a life fully lived.
Goal-setting is never perfect. Life gets in the way and I need to find my way back from time to time.
But, if you can get back on track, you’ll be more likely to achieve your goals
Have you been putting off one of your goals?
Has it gotten away from you?
Take a breath, write it all down using the steps above, and go catch it.
Until next week, here are links to what I’ve been working on and treasures I’ve found out in the creative wilderness.
Enjoy!
Recent Finds
A thoughtful tip from creator Justin Welsh on how to protect ourselves from falling prey to a single source income. (LinkedIn)
An inspiring reminder from Jesse Pedigo (aka Creating Wonders) that it’s never going to be the “right time” to start something, but that’s ok. (Instagram)
A fascinating article by Dr. Hannah England (at Ness Labs) about creative problem solving—what it really is, how it works, and the principles to successful solutions for challenging problems. (Blog)
Bonus: A Moment of Zen
The Netflix sensation Stranger Things just wrapped up its fourth season. This funny Vecna animation from Tyler March is everything and will certainly make you smile if you watch the show. (Instagram)
Quote of the Week
“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” — Tony Robbins
That's all for now.
Stay creative, my friends—and have a great week!
