Goodbye Goals: Accomplish the Unexpected by Abandoning Certain Goals

BY TARYN JEREZ

After a year like 2020, the saying “We make plans and God laughs” has never felt more accurate. The truth is, you can make plans and set resolutions all day long, but there may come a point where those goals no longer suit the life you are pursuing. While pouring time and purpose into how you want to grow personally, professionally, and spiritually are very important, it is equally important to think about what happens when the goals you set don’t serve the evolution you’ve experienced.

The trick to accomplishing your goals in a way that genuinely leaves you feeling fulfilled is learning how to decipher the ones that feel like stepping stones paving the future versus a boulder standing in the way.  

Check-In With Yourself 

When you close your eyes and try to envision the life you want to be living six or even 12 months from now, you probably have a clear image in your head. You can see improvements, growth, and fulfillment in different areas of your life based on what your heart desires. Even when it may not feel like it at the moment, you are changing just like the seasons change. The goals you set for yourself last year may no longer align with the things you want at this stage. For instance, you may have set a goal to achieve a promotion at work that would lead to monthly travel, but as you’ve begun seeing your kids struggle with virtual schooling this year, you no longer see that promotion as an opportunity but a setback. It doesn’t mean you’re a failure if you take your name out of the running for that promotion. Instead, by checking in with your needs, you not only see how that goal no longer serves you but may find a new one that will take you to even greater fulfillment in this season.  

Give Yourself Permission

If women didn’t already put enough pressure on themselves to accomplish everything in the world, add the weight of social media comparison and outside opinions, and clearly, you see how unhealthy the pressure can become. One of the best things you can learn to do in life is permit yourself to lessen your load when it feels too heavy. That fear of looking like a hypocrite or feeling flakey by abandoning a goal you once were proud to share can be very real. Understand that not everything you set out to do will feel like the right fit as time goes on. You have to move some goals out of the way to make room for new ones. Chances are that the life you envision for your future self is a happy one, not because you stuck to a plan that didn’t serve you but because you let it go and went after one that did! 

Support Your Latest Vision  

Carve out time to allow yourself to take inventory of the different categories of your life. Think about family, friends, health, finances, work, hobbies, church, and all the other components that make up who you are and where your time goes. Where do you see opportunities for improvement and added joy? Do you want to start painting again? Have you had your eye on a cabin rental for your family? Are you ready for a new professional challenge? Is this the year you run your first 5k? All of those dreams are part of the vision you have for your life. You deserve to see them happen! Take time to support that vision by creating next steps that will help you accomplish those goals.

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