Goals, though often treated as such, are not a “set it and forget it” type of process. In order to truly achieve your aspirations, they must be revisited and, yes, sometimes revised.
Conducting self-assessments on progress made is an important step in the goal-setting process. It allows you to reflect, identify barriers, overcome obstacles, and re-adjust when necessary.
Reflecting on your progress requires both honesty and self-awareness. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors; developing this skill can help you identify patterns of behavior that may be hindering your progress.
Set aside some time to truly reflect on if you have been moving towards your goals, or if you have been stagnant. If you have not made progress, ask yourself why. Identify any barriers or obstacles, internal or external, that may be holding you back.
Barriers can come in any shape or form; internally, self-doubt, lack of motivation, or fear of failure may be holding you back. If this is the case, recognizing your self-doubts is the first step towards overcoming them. Externally, things that may prevent you from achieving your goals include lack of resources, lack of support, or competing priorities.
Once barriers have been identified, you can develop strategies to overcome them. Strategies may include seeking support from your community, breaking down goals into smaller, more manageable tasks, or even re-adjusting your approach.
Changing your goal is a natural part of the goal-setting process. Re-adjustment may be needed based on changes in circumstances or after learning new information. Re-adjusting goals does not mean failure. It means recognizing that things change and that new strategies may be needed. This process requires flexibility, perseverance, and a willingness to adapt!
Taking the time to reflect, identify barriers, and establish new strategies can also act to renew motivation towards achieving your goal. Whether you see progress, or decide to adjust your expectations, revisiting your goal will remind you why you set it in the first place.
In the end, what truly matters is your ability to be resilient and keep moving forwards. Goal-setting is critical to leading a fulfilling life, and self-assessments are a part of that process!
This really reminded me of some research I did on Self Fulfillment for a class. Goals are a Huge part of self fulfillment and like this blog post talked about you have to take time for yourself to move towards the goal and this is what self fulfillment is.
You know, after reading this, I realized I do need to revise my goals! well, this summer i’ve been trying to get consistent with working out mon-fri but it doesn’t really help with being reckless of what i eat. I need to start thinking about eating cleaner and portion my meals rather than going crazy eating.