So, you’ve set your goal and milestones. You’ve put in a lot of thought into the actions that you need to take in order to reach your goal, and you’ve been diligently doing these actions. Whether your goal is to start your own business, to get healthy, to upskill yourself – you’ve been working through your milestones. At first, you started seeing changes but now it seems like nothing more is happening. You’re not seeing the outcomes that you expected.
So now what?
Are you doing the wrong things?
Are you wasting your time?
Are you… failing??
It's easy to get despondent and demotivated when this happens. Doubt creeps in and you start to wonder if maybe you made a mistake; maybe you can’t do this; maybe you should just give up.
The reality is that this sometimes happens. Even though you’ve thought through everything
that needs to happen and you are working consistently and diligently, change
still takes time. Changes don’t work
according to your schedule and sometimes you just have to be patient.
So, what can you do in the meantime?
1. Review your Milestones
Go through your milestones to make sure that they are still
relevant and realistic. Sometimes as you
go through the things you need to do your milestones may change or may need to
be adjusted. If you’ve tried Plan A and
it didn’t work; now you’ve tried Plan B, make sure that you adjust this in your
milestones. If something is taking
longer, check to see if you need to adjust your deadlines as well.
2. Review your Day-to-Day Actions
Review the things that you focus on daily. Are you procrastinating and doing the not so important things instead of the more important (and possibly more difficult) things? Are the actions you are taking really important or are you just engaging in “busy” work so that you feel as if you’re doing things? For example, is creating a letterhead for your new business really that important?
Identify the really important things that will lead to the outcomes that you want. Make the time to focus on these things. Instead of spending the time on the letterhead, spend time calling potential clients.
3. Get a Different Perspective
Do some research to see how other people have achieved a goal similar to yours. You might get some ideas on different things to try. Don’t compare your journey to theirs - you’re looking for inspiration, not a comparison.
Talk to a coach or someone else to get a different
perspective. Sometimes we are so
invested and entrenched in what we are doing that we get stuck on one
perspective. Take your eyes off your
goal for a minute and talk through your challenges for a different perspective
and for inspiration.
4. Be Patient with Yourself
It can be incredibly frustrating when you are so determined, and you are not getting the results that you want. Learn to be patient with yourself and with the process.
“Change doesn’t happen overnight”
“Rome wasn’t built in a day”
Sounds familiar?
When you’re at this stage, it becomes easier to get caught
up in negative thoughts and self-talk.
Pay attention to your thoughts and the things that you are saying to
yourself. Focus on changing your
internal dialogue – instead of saying “I’m not good at this” say “I’m learning
to be better at this.”
5. Don’t Give Up
Losing momentum happens and it becomes very tempting to give
up. When the temptation becomes strong
reflect on:
How far you’ve already come – appreciate your journey.
What you have already achieved – no matter how big or small.
Why you decided to do this in the first place.
If you need support or a different perspective on how to
achieve your goal, get in touch for a quick chat to see if coaching can help.