I know it’s still August and it is (sort of) premature to hop on the “end of summer” bandwagon. After all, the first day of fall is about a month away.
But, let’s be real, a mood shift is afoot. The sun is now setting before 8pm. The evening weather is changing. And, the usual “get back to” events that scream “fall is coming!” are in full effect.
Unlike at the beginning of the year when you might say, “I have time to (fill in the blank), and you do. At this time of year, you have much less of it.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about time.
Especially as it pertains to the goals I’ve yet to achieve.
How about you? How are you feeling about time and the goals you’ve yet to achieve?
Are you feeling confident about your current game-plan? Because if you keep doing what you are already doing, you will cross the finish line before the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.
Or, are you wondering if you need to start doing something differently in order to close the gap between where you are right now vs. where you want to be?
More than likely, you have a few goals that fall into both camps. (I know I certainly do.)
And today, I want us to focus on those that fall into the latter group.
Because, the goals not yet achieved are probably the ones that cause you to second guess your goal itself, your strategy, and your tactics.
They may even chip away at your confidence as you wonder, “What am I doing wrong?”
Ultimately, the goals in this category make it clear that something is amiss.
The question becomes, but “what” and, possibly, “why?”
What’s Getting in the Way?
In my opinion, the process of identifying what is amiss and getting in the way of you achieving your goals is just as important as the process of achieving your goals.
Important, and confounding. And, I do not profess to have this conundrum figured out.
But, there are some questions I’m noodling on for myself – some of which I pulled from the Feed the Meter Guide I use with my coaching clients.
Perhaps they can help you, too.
“What will happen if you don’t achieve this goal – to you and to others?”
No doubt, many of us have a complex relationship with failure. We live in a culture where the tendency to share highlight reels of our success stories can often make those moments of failure feel like a character flaw.
Is not meeting a particular goal putting your life, business, or the condition of your finances in jeopardy?
This question isn’t designed to get you off the hook for trying to figure out what your next move is.
Rather, it is an invitation to check your perspective.
Because how you answer – whether “yes,” “no,” or “maybe” – will help you redefine what success and failure look and feel like.
“Are you afraid of success?”
I once had a coaching client reach out a little more than a year after the conclusion of our engagement to share that “things were going really well,” that she had “reached all the goals” we mapped out, and to say “all this success and control is weirdly stressful…”
Again, culturally, we have a tendency to (a) dismiss success anxiety, or what I describe as the stress of success, and (b) to minimize how much a new level of success may require you to step out of your comfort zone.
I often say you have to navigate and negotiate new financial, emotional, (and maybe even spiritual) roles and responsibilities with each new level of success.
When you reflect back on the goals you’ve set that you’ve yet to achieve, did you anticipate how you would respond IF you actually succeeded with achieving it?
Seriously, did you envision what would be different to and for you?!
This question is designed to remind you that you often have to adapt to actually getting what you want.
Because something about you, your habits, your environment, and, maybe even, the people with whom you interact (or serve) has to change in order to make room for what’s new.
“What did you miss?”
When it comes to creating a roadmap for your goals, there is always a high chance you’ll:
- miss an important step or mis-identify a milestone,
- under- or over-estimate the length of time it’ll take to reach the goal, overall, or the incremental milestones in between, or
- under-estimate your current capacity of time, energy, and other resources, as well as what you’ll need once the goal is achieved.
This question is designed to help you zoom up and out, so you can gain a broader perspective about your situation and turn your feelings of frustration (and maybe confusion?) into insight and fuel.
Because like most experiences that don’t turn out the way you want, trying to figure out why you’re not achieving your goals and what you might need to start doing differently, is an opportunity to reflect and evolve.
How Much Time, Really?
Technically, we have four (4) full months before we reach the end of the year. But you and I don’t really have all that time to close the gap between where we are right now and where we want to be come December 31st.
So, here’s another question for you to contemplate:
“What do you need to eliminate in order to remove what’s getting in your way?”
Because what you get rid of just might help to:
- increase your clarity about your next moves and how to go about making them happen;
- simplify a task or decision you are currently over-complicating; and
- evaluate your boundaries so you can manage your time, energy, and resources better. It is said that creativity is born from constraints :).
This is the question I’ve been asking myself.
Perhaps it’s a carryover from the professional organizer with whom I’m working this summer. But this, coupled with what I describe as my “goal slump,” has me curious about what mental or emotional clutter I need to discard, too.
My hope is that what I discover from asking this question will help me see more clearly what currently feels obscure. I also hope it’ll help me be more strategic about what I do next.
From the questions outlined herein, which ones will you ask yourself? Send me a DM on Instagram to let me know.
p.s. Fall is upon us, a time when the summer lull turns into a focus on finishing the year strong. And, I can help. I have space for two (2) Half-Day VIP Business & Financial Coaching Sessions and three (3) 1:1 coaching clients in September. Let’s explore if working together is a fit.
