If you’re tired of making resolutions and goals that you never accomplish, you’ve come to the right place. Learn why you aren’t making progress on your goals and how to get unstuck. You can also read about some self-limiting beliefs many people have here.
Traditional health goals can get off track for several reasons. Once you’re aware of why this happens, you can prevent it or fix it so you can stay focused on achieving your life and wellness goals.
Reasons Why You’re Not Making Progress on Your Goals
- Your goals are unrealistic. One of the most frequent issues is that you may pick goals that aren’t realistic.
Maybe you want to travel the globe, read hundreds of books, and lose a massive amount of weight in a short period. However, many of these goals are not possible to accomplish in the immediate future. You may have some obstacles standing in your way, such as money, time, and the inability to lose weight quickly.
- Your goals are too general and you don’t have a plan to get there. Sometimes goals can be too general. For example, saying that you want to lose weight will not get you too far. You will get lost in your journey if you don’t have a specific target or plan for how to get there.
- You aren’t tracking your goals. Sometimes, you might make progress towards your goal and not even realize it. It’s important to measure your progress, so you don’t give up too soon. If you don’t recognize your progress, you might lose motivation to stay on your wellness journey.
- You try to do everything on your own. Sometimes you might fail because you don’t ask for help and try to do everything without support. When making significant changes in your life, it’s important to ask for the help you need.
- You aren’t flexible enough with your goal setting. Your current circumstances affect your mindset and the way you perceive things. Over time, you gain knowledge, insight, and experience which influence your objectives. Sometimes you must make adjustments when working on goals. We are not static. We are works in progress and always changing.
- You get discouraged by setbacks. Sometimes, failures or setbacks may be a blessing because it teaches you new and important life lessons. Without failure, you may not change enough to grow. Failure isn’t the end, and you can always set new goals.
- You don’t have a strong ‘why.’ If you don’t know why you are doing something, why do it? What is your reason for wanting to change? Without a future vision for yourself, you probably won’t change.
Try these strategies to make progress towards your goals:
- Make your goals reachable. Instead of trying to lose a hundred pounds, make a goal to lose five pounds at a time.
- Create a plan for your goal. Reward yourself along the way for each milestone you make. For example, for every five pounds you lose, reward yourself with a self-care activity.
- Measure your progress. If you measure your progress, you’ll be able to see what you’re doing more clearly. Plus, you’ll be more motivated to keep pushing toward your goals. One way to keep track is to use different tools to track your goals. Some examples of tracking tools include apps, journals, and planners. It might take a while to find the right tool for you. If you are trying to lose weight, take measurements, and take a picture at the beginning. The pounds might not come off right away if you are building muscle. While it’s important to note your beginning weight, our weight can fluctuate a lot and it can be discouraging.
- Ask for support. A little help could bring you success! If you have supportive friends or family, they could help you achieve your goals. For instance, let your friends or family know if you follow certain diet restrictions. Letting them know ahead of time will make things easier for you if you are in social situations that involve food. Asking for encouragement from those closest to you will help you reach your goals more easily and make the whole process simpler as you move towards your goal.
- Give yourself permission to make adjustments to your goals. If it’s not working for you, nothing says you must stick to your original goal. Sometimes goals need to change. You might realize that your earlier ambitions aren’t relevant any longer. Also, recognize that your target dates (particularly for weight loss) may not have been feasible. Allow yourself the room to make changes and don’t beat yourself up over goals you don’t reach exactly when you wanted to reach them.
- Stay aware of growth. Whether or not you reach your goals, you are growing and changing. It’s more important to grow and become stronger than to reach every goal on your list. Your list may change, and that’s okay. What we thought we wanted may no longer be important. We don’t need to stick to our original goals. If it’s not working for you, don’t feel like you must do it. If you put the effort toward learning or trying something new, you still get something out of the experience.
- Write your ‘why.’ Picture yourself and create a vision of where you want to be in 3 months or 6 months. Why do you want that for yourself? Write it down somewhere and look at this daily.
Summary
Take a look at what hasn’t worked for you in the past when it comes to reaching your goals. Or what has worked for you? Take stock and be proactive when it comes to working on your goals.
If you need help figuring out your goals and what is realistic, schedule a free call with me today.
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