Happy new month IBG readers! Welcome to the month of April and to the second quarter of year 2016!
Honestly, where has the time gone? It feels like I was only wishing you guys a Happy New Year a few weeks ago….not 3 months ago! But alas, this is the cycle of life…time must come and go! And to remix the hit song by Trybes Men-whether we like am, whether we no like am…time go still dey pass!
Being conscious of time is important if we are going to stay on top of or achieve our goals…which brings me to my next question…
How are those New Year resolutions and goals coming along? Have you forgotten them? Lost track, felt defeated or just slaying them anyhow? Well, I am going to be honest…I would rate myself about 35% in this area. Why so poor? Well there are certain mistakes I have made, which I want to share with you guys, so you don’t repeat them. Here are 6 reasons why I have struggled to achieve some of my 2016 quarter 1 goals
- I didn’t write them down: Sigh!!! This is quite bad. So remember in January/February, I was busy planning the #My2016Goals event? Well, I spent so much time planning the event, I didn’t take out time to clearly think out and write out my goals in January. I felt I had them in my head, so I was covered! #EPICFAIL! Guess what I forgot some of them or haven’t even started creating opportunities to achieve the rest! Thankfully after the event (like 2 weeks after in mid February) I wrote the ones I could remember down in #My2016goalsJournal- a handy notebook I created to help me keep track and inspire me on #My2016Goals Journey. You can find out more about the #My2016goalsJournal here
- I tried to do too much: Yes! The New Year makes us feel super human. We believe we can go forth and conquer…and we can, but we must be strategic and plan out our moves carefully. I tried to balance so many things and I only ended up feeling overwhelmed, confused and off course that created avenue for doubt to seep in. To remedy that, I am simplifying my goals…what does that mean? Well, I have realised that good things take time to build. So instead of trying to do everything at once, I have decided to see what I can reasonably achieve now with the resources I have. Where things seem out of reach, I either look for ways to partner and collaborate with like-minded individuals who are on the same journey as me or put it on the back burner. After all man no be fire wood.
- I wasn’t strategic: This is the real killer here. Many times we want to swim but we don’t have access to a pool. You want to launch a clothing line but you don’t have a marketing plan…how will people know where to buy the clothes or tht they are even available? Your goals aren’t just a big wish list which you hope will happen someday..they are intentional actions which will improve your life! So, if you are serious about achieving them you need to put your thinking cap on and ask ‘how will I make this happen’? Who do I need to help me? What will it cost in terms of time and money? What personal sacrifices will I make (and am I prepared to make them)? Who can I partner with to create the most amount of leverage? These (and more) are the sorts of questions I should have asked myself a few months ago. Alas….I won’t repeat the same mistake twice (please help me say amen o)
- I didn’t do enough research: This is related to the above point on strategy. To be able to strategise effectively and make the right decisions, you must have the right kind of information. To have the right kind of information you must research. I’ll give you an example, my goal at the beginning of the year was to lose 10-12kg by the end of March. I assumed that by jogging, the weight would naturally fall of. Another #ERROR. There are 24 hours in a day and I only ran for 30-50 minutes in a day. But I was still eating the wrong kind of food at the wrong time. I wasn’t sleeping enough. I had no idea about nutritional aspects of Nigerian food or how to jump start my metabolism…so off course I gained 4kg instead of losing 10!
- I wasn’t disciplined: I am being honest right? I LOVE to curl up in bed and watch every series under the sun (eating every kind of food- usually ice cream and cake)……do NOT judge me! I have a day job and a side hustle which really is a day job too…so one would expect that I would put my weekends to good use- NOPE. I spent it watching TV, sleeping, being sociable etc…now there is nothing wrong with any of this but if you want to achieve your goals, you must create time to achieve them. They won’t just happen. Now I have a time table/to do list with specific hours assigned to tasks. That way I can still get things done and find time to watch the latest episode of scandal.
- I wasn’t accountable– one reason why personal trainers are great is they keep you accountable. Knowing that you have to report to someone helps you take ownership and responsibility. But when your goals are a secret, just between you, yourself and your mind-then there isn’t accountability and there is a tendency to let things slip and slide. Now I have a goals accountability partner. Each week we send each other our goals for the week and check in at least once a week to see how things are going. You should try this, its FAB!
Well, now I have confessed my goal sins, it’s your turn! How are your goals looking? Did you make any of the mistakes I made or more? Or are you in formation- taking each goal and slaying them one at a time…if you are please share!
1 Comment
I can totally relate with the part about trying to do too much. We all feel we can do so much when a New Year sets in, but, it rarely is the right way to go. Instead, I’ve found simple goals work best. Nothing grandiose. Just make a simple goal and work consistently towards it. When you hit the goal, you can up your game, by setting a higher goal. That way, you become confident in your ability to achieve your goals, instead of being drained by a goal that you just cannot keep up with. Hope this helps!
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