A January slump in reaching your goals is real-talk.
We’re now almost through January, and for those who made New Year’s resolutions, you might be wondering where that motivation went (or what those resolutions even were) and where to even start in reaching your goals. It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment at the beginning of the year, but then life happens, and suddenly it’s the end of January and you still haven’t started, or maybe you aren’t as far along as you thought you might be.
You are not alone. If you hear only one thing from this post, let it be this: Don’t give up on yourself. You’re going to have days when you feel motivated and moving forward feels easy. And … you’re going to have days when you feel like you’re going in the wrong direction, taking 10 steps back, and like you want to give up. What you do on the days you want to sleep in, on the days you want to give up, on the days when nothing is going right … this will determine your outcome.
The difference between you and someone else is what you do when the shiny newness of your goals wears off. Here are a few reasons why you might feel a little behind in your success, and most importantly … what to do about it!
You aren’t keeping your promises … to yourself!
Promises are important to keep. But the most important promises to keep are the ones to yourself! If you schedule a workout, or a business meeting, or time to write another chapter in that book you’re working on … keep it! Need some help getting your habits on track? Get after your goals and start changing your habits here.
Put it on the calendar, block out that time, and stick with it. Don’t schedule it during a busy time of your day … sometimes early mornings or later evenings are the best!
You aren’t sharing with anyone.
Accountability to yourself is a lot easier with help. When you share your life with another person and share your goals, it makes them more real … and makes you less likely to falter.
Pick a friend, spouse, yoga buddy, neighbor, whoever! Tell them your plan and ask if you can talk to them about it on the regular. Or, if your goal could involve a buddy (#workoutbuddies), invite them along! It’s far more difficult to not show up when someone else is counting on you.
You haven’t made a real game plan yet.
You might have big goals. Or, your goals might be on the smaller side. Either way, plan out how you’re going to reach your goal. Odds are, the steps necessary are more than just “do the thing.”
Write down each step, how long it should take, and a deadline for each. (See the next step.)
You don’t have a deadline.
Why do you need deadlines in your life? They’re stressful, change constantly, and create added pressure. And that’s exactly why we need them! When we aren’t motivated every single day, deadlines help create that drive to keep moving forward. Even when we don’t want to.
Once you have your game plan, give each step a timeline. This doesn’t have to be set in stone, but giving a good estimate on how long your goal will take to achieve will certainly get you moving in the right direction.
You aren’t celebrating your wins!
Did you finish reading a book? Walk every day for a week? Talk to three new people today? It’s important to recognize that the small steps are what get us to our big goals! High five yourself for sticking with it and checking things off, one day at a time. Our society can really pop the bubble on excitement. And for some reason, it’s become the norm to keep excitement to ourselves. But why?!
If you’ve done something you’re proud of, no matter how “small,” be excited! Life’s too short not to celebrate.
Stick with it. Do one thing you don’t want to do every day that will move you toward your goal: one phone call, one social media post, talk to one person, read for 5 minutes, go for a 10-minute walk, etc. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish when you just … keep … going. Before you know it, you’ll need new goals because you’ll have achieved what you hoped!
Need a bit more motivation? Or are you in a bit of a slump? Here’s another blog post to read about motivation and how to stick with it!
What’s a goal you’re working toward and how are you moving forward in your life to reach it?
Let us know in the comments below! (We want to know ALL your goals, not just the big ones!)
