When the Going Gets Tough: Change Your Approach, Not Your Goal!

When life seems to be working against you, don’t give up; don’t surrender to the thoughts and people telling you to put your goals aside. As long as your goal is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound), you can reach it.

Check out these common reasons for why “the going gets tough” and their solutions.

Trying too hard. We often end up trying too hard if we’re (a) in a hurry to see results or (b) have NOT been seeing results, but be warned, trying harder is not always the answer. In fact, you may end up seeing the results you were pushing for, but then find that you’re not ready for them. The solution: Step back, slow down, and don’t push things to blossom before their time. Whatever process you have to go through (job search, career change, etc), trust it and try to enjoy it, because no good ever came from cutting corners. Don’t work harder, work smarter.

Loss of sight. This is a biggie. If you’re so caught up in achieving your vision that you’ve forgotten why you started or how far you’ve come, you’ve lost sight. You can lose sight even if you ARE achieving your goals! The solution: Reconnect with your why. What’s your vision and how will the goals you set get you there? Find the emotion in your response; if there’s no emotion, it’s not motivating enough and maybe that’s why your goal got too tough.

“You gotta want it,” but first you’ve got to know what it is you want…then you’ve got to remind yourself and remind yourself again.

Overworked. Losing out on sleep? Not enough time for family, friends, interests, or hobbies? You might be overworked (or overworking yourself). This can have a strong impact on how you perceive your goal. If you’re missing out on personal and social things that are important to you, then your goal just may not seem worth it. The solution is simple. Just take some time off to do the things you enjoy, repeat regularly, and actually enjoy them.

Constant obstacles. This often stems from personal error or misjudgment. Something is only deemed an obstacle if you’re not prepared for it. If you find yourself dealing with frequent challenges, perhaps you did not prepare yourself well enough. The solution: Do more research. Maybe you need more up to date information or more perspective. Take advantage of networking and really get to know people; what better way to learn how to overcome something than from someone who has already done it themselves!

The more aware you are of potential obstacles, the better you can plan around them or be ready with another course of action. Knowledge is power; don’t skimp yourself.

Final Thoughts

Sorting through and reconnecting with your goals may be enough to solve your problems. If not, you must be ready to part with your old ways of doing things and be willing to step outside your comfort zone because that’s where the magic happens, that’s where ambitions are achieved!

Remember, plans will always change, but if you have a SMART goal and watch out for these common pitfalls, you can work your way over any obstacle with the right plan.

#ShesaBoss and #theGB blog