“Where did time go?,” I asked myself as I celebrated my book’s 4th anniversary, ate my boys’ birthday cakes and confirmed client engagements for 2024.
You might be asking yourself the same question too, amidst finishing work deliverables, making mental notes of holiday parties you committed to and making last minute family vacation plans.
Breathe.
Another question you might be asking yourself is, “What have I achieved this year?”
Some of you might have a long list of achievements, while others might be staring blankly at your monitor, wondering how the past 10 months had gone by so quickly.
What if you made little or no progress in this year’s career or personal goals?
You might have said in January that you’ll start building your savings, but now you find yourself in debt. What if you planned on losing weight, but the weighing scale is telling you you didn’t? Or maybe you said you’ll finally start your business, but you’re still caught up in doubt and in the busyness of your day job.
Again, breathe.
But please don’t beat yourself up for falling short of the goals you set for yourself this year. Perhaps you missed them because there is something you’re not seeing or realizing.
These 3 questions can help.
1 – How realistic are your goals?
Many of the clients I’ve coached have very high expectations and standards for themselves. Most of the time, having high standards is beneficial to them because it motivates them to do their best. However, other times, these big and scary goals also paralyze them from taking action or dampen their spirits when they don’t see significant results.
One way to check if the goals you set are realistic is to consider the internal and external resources you need in order to achieve them.
- What internal and external resources would you need to achieve these goals?
- Were (or Are) these resources accessible or available to you?
If you realize that these resources weren’t (or aren’t) accessible or available to you, perhaps what you can do next time is to set goals around how you can get these resources.
(Note: Internal resources refer to your skills, talent, strengths. External resources may mean money, tools, connections, etc)
You can read more about setting realistic goals in this BetterUp article.
2 – Which goals weigh more than others?
Not all goals are created equal.
In the Philippines, we have a slang phrase, “Sana all”which roughly translates to, “I wish the same for everyone” or “If only everybody could be like you.” I admit that there are moments when I see the people I look up to and say to myself, “Oh, I wish I could do that too!” Then, I ask myself, “What would I give or give up to attain that?” Then, I transport back to reality.
Asking yourself what you’re willing to give or give up to attain your goals, will allow you to assess what matters most to you. If family is your priority (like me!) then maybe your goal to “get promoted at work” would weigh less than, “be present in all my child’s school activities”.
Knowing your most important values and needs will help you put your goals in perspective and see which ones matter more than others. You might realize that the goals you didn’t achieve are those that don’t really mean much to you.
3 – How are you measuring progress?
After my friend co-facilitated a webinar, I asked her how she thought she did.
“Really bad!,” she told me.
“What’s your baseline?,” I asked.
“All the coaches and consultants I’ve worked with are so much better!”
Then I reminded her that her line of work doesn’t really require her to be an excellent facilitator, while coaches and consultants like me do this for a living.
That’s when she realized that she was being too hard on herself. That she already has all the necessary skills for her to do her best work. Though learning to facilitate is still one of her goals, she was able to put things in perspective and chart her own unique learning path.
One of my favorite Career Agility Principle is to define (and measure) progress and success in your own terms.
Re-evaluate. Right-size. Reframe.
What did you realize after asking yourself these 3 questions?
Sometimes, when you miss our targets or fall short of our goals, the best thing to do is not necessarily to work harder, but to…
Re-evaluate: How realistic are your goals?
Right-size: Which goals weigh more than others?
Reframe:How are you measuring progress?
And here’s one more tip. Don’t forget to acknowledge yourself for other achievements and progress you made this year that may not directly tick off your goals, but make you feel proud nonetheless. Achieving something else other thanyour initially set goals, could also be an indicator of how things are evolving in your own life or career.
Enjoy the rest of the year!
In case you missed it….
❇️ I celebrated my book’s 4th anniversary and I have a special gift 🎁 for you.
❇️ The webinar recording of Making LinkedIn Work For You: An Introductory Session for Coaches and Consultants is now available!
❇️ Planning for your organization’s training and coaching programs next year? I’m happy to help! (I still have some slots for Q1 2024)
❇️ Want to build a career in Coaching? Check this out.
For more tips on career, leadership and coaching, check out these FREE resources.
📗 Free courses: http://kurlydeguzman.thinkific.com
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Coach Kurly de Guzman is a Career and Leadership Coach and one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices based in the Philippines. She continuously seeks ways to help coaches, leaders and teams thrive through her newsletter, leadership and career development workshops as well as group and 1:1 coaching sessions for clients.
To work with Kurly, send an email to hello@kurlydeguzman.com or book an exploratory call to discuss your organization’s needs here.