We put so much pressure on ourselves every January, realising that we didn’t achieve what we had planned the year before. Along with the dreary weather, dark mornings and back to work blues, January already has enough going on, so let’s remove that guilt and learn how to overcome failure…
Everyone knows that ideas don’t always go to plan. Whether it’s a genuine reason or we just give up, it’s difficult to keep up new habits. Habits are formed over long periods of time, so sometimes it’s easier to forget the plans!
There are reasons we fail at achieving our annual goals, and it doesn’t mean we have failed at life! Last year, I wrote a post all about my 2018 goals and it’s safe to say I more than failed in completing them!
I barely did anything on my list and now I know why. They were not at the forefront of my mind. I had all of these aspirations for how my life would look in a year, but I let my goals fall behind me, wrote the post and moved on.
Reasons for failure to achieve your goals
You have too many
That list above was exhausting! Did I forget there are only 12 months in a year? A year feels so long when it starts, but soon passes!
Make sure you start with achievable goals that will still push you so that you don’t have to overcome failure later in the year.
They are too difficult or long term
Some goals take longer to achieve than others. If you’ve made any steps towards one, you should be proud because that’s an achievement in itself. Make a list and break down the task or goal into smaller goals. This is a great approach for anything overwhelming.
You don’t actually care
If you have a goal that you’re not truly invested in, you’re much less likely to achieve it. You have to find why you’re doing it, why it’s on the list and that ‘why’ has to be strong enough for you to really want it.
Losing focus
As I mentioned before, it is so easy to forget your goals or lose focus. You can make a vision board or put a list on your bedroom wall, or inside your wardrobe. Just remind yourself now and then to keep the focus on your goals and check in on progress.
Bad habits
Habits hold us back and it’s difficult to change, but its possible! Create new habits by starting small. If you want to quit smoking, reduce your cigarettes from 20 to 15 per day , then again the next week, and so on. Want to exercise regularly? Commit to short workouts twice a week, then three times a week, then longer workouts.
Don’t feel guilty! Overcome failure…
Guilt holds us back. There is no point wasting your last week of each December or first week of each January wallowing in self pity and wondering why you haven’t achieved anything. Chances are, you’ve achieved some great things that you haven’t even realised.
While I failed at most of my big goals last year, I worked a lot on myself and my mind, and I’m really happy I’m going into the new year with a different mindset.
On New Year’s Day, I had a bit of a breakdown and felt like a total failure, but with a clearer, calmer mind, I can see that I improved my career, ideas, mindset and home. Those are so important, but not necessarily measurable.
By realising the things you did well or things you did achieve, no matter how small, you can overcome this failure mindset and reevaluate where it went wrong.
Do you find it difficult to overcome failure?
Think of at least 3 things you achieved last year and keep going until you can’t; finishing a course, finding your perfect haircut, sleeping better. I bet you have a list of things!
What do you think is your biggest achievement from last year? What’s your main goal for this year?
Don’t know where to start? Take a look at my post about goal setting and choosing the areas of life you would like to improve.
