My Goal-Setting Discoveries

Up until five years ago, I’d wake early on New Year’s Eve day to reflect on the year. What did I accomplish? What were my JOYs? What did I discover in hindsight that I could have done differently?

I’d spend several hours reviewing my calendar to lay the foundation for the coming year. I did this for several decades.

In the evening, I’d get together with friends or family to greet the New Year. Some years, I’d regret how I felt the next morning.    😳

Yet, I’d wake early on New Year’s Day to write my goals for the year.

For reasons unknown, I stopped doing this about a half-decade ago.

Late last week, I came upon a sheet of paper in a thin folder on my desk. It was my Goals Sheet -Reflecting on 2012 and Goals for 2013. 

I was ready to set it aside to look at it later. Hmmm, my father used to say this. “I’ll look at it later.” Something about the attractive printout with colorful title and headings, plus easy-to-read text drew me in. I spent 15 minutes reading the typed summary from 2012 and the goals I had set for 2013.

Surprising Discovery

Reviewing these goals anchored a belief I’ve loosely held for several years.

Time-related expectations are the enemy.

We feel disappointed and give up when we don’t achieve goals according to our timeline.

It’s hard to keep working when progress stagnates. Consider when you hit a plateau while dieting. We want to see steady progress and yet our bodies need to adjust to weight loss. After losing almost ten pounds, my weight stayed the same for six months before breaking below that level. No matter what I did, I couldn’t jump off that plateau!

There is no magic pill for instant success. Reality progresses at a turtle’s pace, even amidst bursts of progress.

We build layer upon layer as we keep working. Eventually, we achieve our goal. Others may comment on our overnight success! Yeah, right!

I set three health goals in 2012. They were the common goals many of us set at this time of year. Exercise 3-4 times a week. Eat more nutritious meals with wholesome ingredients. Lose 20 pounds. I barely made progress on all three. It took me 5 years to lose 20 pounds. During that time, I shifted my relationship with food. I used to eat each meal as if it were my last. Today, I realize this may have been a subliminal holdover from childhood. As punishment, I would be sent to my room, hungry.

Stick with your goals and you will exceed them.

It’s been six years since I set those goals in 2013, and I’ve lost 25 pounds instead of 20. I eat foods with ingredients I can mostly see and pronounce. For each of us it’s different. For me, it’s eating my dinner for breakfast (high protein, few carbs), eating a bit less for lunch, and then snacking for dinner. This way, my body digests the food and gives me strength to get done what I must during the day. If I have wine, I prefer to have it earlier in the day. (Advantages of working from home.)

I’m not perfect. My car sometimes swerves into a fast-food drive through for a mid-sized portion of French fries with ketchup.

I am exercising more than my initial goal of a few times a week. If I can’t go on a hike, I do exercises at home with a ball, resistance bands, and weights.

Write down your goals.

If you’re new to goal setting, I urge you to write down your goals or type them into a document.

Our memories are fallible. We need to see progress. Where did we begin and where are we now?

I need to focus more on my financial goals. The downturn in the market this past December hurt a lot of our portfolios, including mine.

While I’m eating heathy, keeping trim, and exercising, I need to focus more on securing my retirement as a self-employed entrepreneur. Many of my friends whose careers have been working for others (companies, government, charities), are already retiring. While work gives me purpose, I’d like to visit other countries.

It appears that I’ll be setting goals again for 2019 after a half-decade hiatus.

What about you?

Comment below.