Setting goals is one thing but accomplishing them is an entirely different story. Often, we set out with high aspirations and goals and we are looking to achieve them, but we often fall short. The biggest question that remains when it comes to failing at goals on the first go around is what we are supposed to do after. So how do you deal with not achieving your goals? How do you rebound from the initial let down and setbacks?
Here are a few quick tips that may help you around the corner to the finish line on your second attempt at achieving what you initially set out to get done.
Come Back Stronger, Don’t Let the First Failure Hold You Back
One of the biggest things people do when they fail is to give up altogether. It’s hard to say I blame you. It can be demoralizing to realize you didn’t have that push to finish your goals or enough grind to achieve your original set of goals the first go around. Some individuals just can’t rebound once they are knocked down once.
Don’t let this be you. Try looking at the original failed goals from a different angle and come back at it with a monkey on your shoulder. Prepare and analyze what needs to be done differently and try to attack it again and again until you finally have that breakthrough. People usually give up right before something is about to transpire or happen.
Rough it out just a little bit longer and push through one more time. Try and change the focus to a small victory to get you motivated again. Sometimes going for the primary goal can just seem to be daunting to get back up and try again. Start small and get moving again.
Learn from Your Mistakes and Adjust
This may be hands down the most important subject that more people always fail to hear completely. You’re going to fail. A lot. Nothing you can do or attempt to do to maneuver out of the way of failure. Nothing is going to work every time. If it does, your just plain lucky or the goal wasn’t very worthy to begin with. The most successful people on the planet aren’t successful because they didn’t fail.
They are successful because they failed quickly and didn’t let the failure go un-noticed. Tom Brady hasn’t won every Super Bowl, and Lebron James hasn’t won as many rings as Michael Jordan. They are always in the discussion, however. They continue to learn and improve from those failures.
That’s the key to the kingdom. Significant failures will come and go, but you typically won’t make the same epic mistake twice. Smaller mistakes and failures? Sure, you may have multiples of these, but you have to just to keep plowing through them until you hit the end of the road. Eventually, good things will happen.
“If you hang around the Barbershop long enough, eventually, you’re going to get a haircut.” It’s just how it works people. Keep at it.
Fail Faster Next Time
Failing fast is also an underestimated tool on the road to success. Just like we mentioned previously, you are going to fail. That’s almost a guarantee. It’s a matter of how quickly you can fail and then make the adjustment toward hitting the mark the next time around.
If more people understood that we all fail continually and that luck if far and few between, I believe many more would continue to push through and continue to try. Make it quick and move on.
Set Smaller Milestones, Take the Small Victories
If you have already fallen short of your original goals and decided to get back up and try again, then let’s make some small adjustments. First, let’s scale back the goals. Yes, you need to know the end game and be able to visualize what your chasing but that’s not the end of the story. More importantly, you need the stepping stones and staircase to get there.
For example, losing 30 pounds is a goal that’s bound to fail and fail quickly. Maybe this is close to the goal that you already crashed and burned on. That’s okay. Try making a small adjustment such as I’m not going to eat carbs after 6pm this week.
Another example of an easier small stepping stone could be just to lose 1lb this week. Making your original big goal, your only goal and only path to get to it is bound to fail because it’s too difficult to stay focused and results seem too far away. Start small and go from there.
Visualize Your Goals, If You Can See It, You Can Make It Happen
The process of seeing what your goals can be or turn into is tough. Very tough. I get it. Distractions can easily take over this process. Sometimes you may even lose sight of what you’re chasing and why you’re chasing it. Take the time to try and visualize your goals and visualize the outcome of what happens if you achieve them.
What does your life look like if you can pull this off? What will change? How much better could your financial situation be? Maybe it’s even something along the lines of how much better health could you be in?
Having the ability to see the improvement in achieving goals can have on your life can help dramatically to keep you motivated and give you a reason why.
Remember Why You Set Them to Begin With, Always Know Your “Why”
Everything with goal setting begins with the “why” behind the goals and the reason you want to achieve them. If it’s something small that won’t completely tear you down if you fail, you’re likely not to care very much at the results. It’s unfortunate that it works this way, but it does.
If, however, you have a powerful why behind your goals and a strong reason that has a deep meaning to you then everything changes. Remind yourself of the why and the entire reason you’re waking up early or running a few miles today.
No matter what the reason may be, it’s going to be easy to get knocked down and beaten off the path from time to time. You may even forget why you are striving for something completely or for weeks at a time. It’s crucial to find clever ways to remind yourself of your reason why when you start hitting these lows and when the thought of giving up starts creeping in.
You can hang a post-it notes in the bathroom, or keep a note stuck to your computer screen. Find any original reason to continue to tell yourself the entire meaning of your hard work. Forgetting your reason why is a quick reason why you could fail again so don’t make that mistake twice.
Lack of Time- Or So You Claim
This is more of an excuse than a reason you fail. It’s a reason you like to use to explain failures but unfortunately, it’s not a very good one. We all have 24 hours in a day, and we all have obligations. It’s what you do with those 24 hours and how you manage your time that can determine if you fail again or succeed on the next go around.
If your setting goals to lose weight or create more financial freedom, you may have to sacrifice an hour or two of sleep to get it done. Regardless of how busy you are, if you don’t carve out time for the goals, you’re bound to fail the second time around as well.
How Are You Going to Deal with Your Failed Goals? Bounce Back or Give Up?
Hopefully, the answer to the question here is, bounce back. We all fail and will continue to fail repeatedly. Learn from the mistakes, write them down and write down how you are going to improve the next time. Be sure to carve out time for your goals. They aren’t meant to be ignored and obviously are important to you for one reason or another.
You have time, you just have to make time to get it done in round two. How many have you failed at goals recently and what did you do to fight back and learn from it the second time around? Be sure to leave a comment below.