Why haven’t you achieved your 2021 goals in the first half of the year? Perhaps you have blitzed them and if so, congratulations, you can move on, there is nothing to see here.
If, however, like me, you have let a mixture of pandemic craziness, daily life busyness and the latest binge-watch sensation sweep you into the second half of 2021 without much thought about those goals you wrote back in January, you are in the right place.
I wrote a book on goal-setting, so it truly pains me to admit how little headway I have made on my goals this year. It really is embarrassing that the author of Super Sexy Goal Setting does not have much to show for the first half of 2021.
The good news is that there is still almost half of the year remaining. Now is the perfect time to pull out those 2021 goals, dust them off and review them. There is no downside to a half-year goals review. You may decide to tweak them or change them up entirely. At the very least, you may find renewed enthusiasm for your 2021 goals.
The most important thing to note is that you are not alone. There are some very common issues that plague even the most ardent goal-setter (me).
Here are three goal-setting setbacks that should NOT stop you achieving your 2021 goals…
1) Obstacles With Your 2021 Goals
Obstacles can come in many different forms and be in all areas—from limitations in money, resources and time, to loved ones being negative about the goal. What happens when people encounter obstacles? Often they stop or go back, or they carry the obstacle around with them as some sort of ‘proof’ that they shouldn’t be going for the goal!
You have a car breakdown that wipes out all your travel savings. Or you have a fight with your spouse on your first date night in two years, or a dog chases you on your morning run. So you tell yourself that it was not meant to be or you are being too ambitious.
But you WANT to have obstacles! Obstacles don’t exist until you set goals, and they only start to show up when you are on the way to achieving your goals. So you should get really excited, as they show you that goal setting works—it is taking you somewhere.
Top Tip – with the half-year review of your 2021 goals you can be prepared for any obstacles up front. I didn’t start my strength training goal in the first half of the year as I didn’t know where to begin but after reviewing my goals, I took the first step – I’m booked in to get a strength training program at a local gym this afternoon.
2) Competing Goals
One major way you can trip yourself up is to have competing goals. With your 2021 goals, you may not have gotten traction yet as you had two ambitious goals – for example, running a marathon and writing a book – that would take up too much time. Goal conflicts are a common issue and they are not an excuse to give up or fail.
With your half-year goals review, have you written too many goals or ones that do not complement each other? In Super Sexy Goal Setting, I advise having no more than four goals for the year. This will help to reduce the chance of competing goals and goal overwhelm in general. If it helps, only focus on one or two goals for the remainder of 2021.
Top Tip – remember that that a balanced life is a myth. Extraordinary results require focused attention and time, and that means time away from other things. Know that sometimes one goal will take priority for a while. Isn’t it better to achieve one goal fully than no goals because they conflict?
3) No Longer Excited by Your 2021 Goals
Perhaps you have reviewed your 2021 goals and they no longer excite you. What do you do now?
If the goal is something that still interests you but you have lost some of that initial enthusiasm, spend a few minutes reminding yourself of the purpose behind the goal. Why did you decide you wanted it? Rewrite it in a way that resparks interest. Create some affirmations around it and repeat them to yourself. Get some energy behind it and determine if it is something you want to devote your precious time to.
Top Tip – if you look at the goal and it doesn’t reflect the real you, is causing significant sacrifice in other areas of your life, is taking up all your time with no end in sight, or is making you deeply unhappy or unwell then it is best to drop it, at least for now. Although I had learn some conversational Te Reo Māori on my list, with so much on, I have decided to leave it until next year.
The Good and Bad News
It is common to run into setbacks such as obstacles, competing goals and no longer being excited by them, but a half-year review of your 2021 goals will do a lot to counter those issues.
Having goals does not eliminate problems, but hopefully it gives you better quality problems! Best of luck for the rest of 2021. I’m off to the gym.
Some of this blog post was extracted from my super sexy book, Super Sexy Goal Setting. Read it today to create an amazing second half of 2021. It is not too late!
Leave a Reply