I Made These Mistakes…Are You Doing the Same With Your Goals?

Michelangelo once said that “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it’s too low and we hit it.”

I’ve used this quote before but it never applied in my life until recently. At least I never saw it so clearly before this year!

There have been so many changes in my business in 2018 and 2019 that some days felt like I blinked and the day was gone. These changes came with great and not-so-great results, one of which included not having the time and motivation to write.

If you’ve been a subscriber to my email newsletters for over 3 years, you must have noticed the lack of consistency in writing. I used to be a very prolific writer until 2018/2019.

When I noticed that I had stopped doing some of the things I loved, I also had to take a step back and evaluate my goals. To start with, I had to identify whether these goals were SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).

Then I had to ask myself a number of questions:

• Were they goals that I really wanted to achieve?
• Was I focusing on the right things?
• Were they taking me where I want to go or leading me away from my dreams?
• What exactly was keeping me feeling like I wasn’t moving?

It’s not that I’m not making strides…I am. And it’s not that I’m not achieving some goals…I’m doing that too.

However, for some reason, I ended up feeling stuck, unmotivated and unfulfilled despite the positive results that have emerged as I worked on my goals.

The Solution and Its Results

Other than working with a coach, another thing that works well for me when I hit a snag is to take time off. When I do so, I let the challenge percolate in my mind, and give my mind time to come up with an answer.

That’s exactly what I did over the last few weeks. And I got some BIG answers…which have led to this article.

The first realization was that I was still working with a plan that was obsolete as far as the business is concerned. This plan was set for a partnership of 4, which has since been dissolved. I didn’t take time to rework the plan. I just simplified it!

Second, in simplifying the plan, I set my goals too low…and hit them! To some people, it may seem as if the things I’ve achieved this year are huge. In reality, I’ve ended up sabotaging my own growth because I was afraid of failing.

Third, some of the things I’m focusing on will take me away from my intended destination. They’ll keep me busy, but I’ll end up at the top of the wrong mountain so to speak. That, my friend, is a very painful place to be.

A fourth realization was that I needed to go back to the drawing board and start with the most important things. Writing is one of my most important things. I’ve also noticed that the more I write, the more I attract people who meet my ideal client criteria.

Way Forward

The first thing I did was to (finally) hire a full-time assistant. It was easy working with virtual assistants, but it was time for change and growth. The assistant will handle a lot of admin, secretarial and online work.

Having an admin will also reduce direct access to me. I can then concentrate on working in my areas of excellence which are coaching, speaking and content creation (which includes writing).

Keeping in touch with subscribers through the email newsletter ties with writing. So another shift is to re-start writing the weekly email, whether there’s a blog post for that week or not.

I love working with batches of 3 so finally, it’s time for the kind of growth that only comes when you work with a coach. Now that I know what I need to work on, it’s easier to get the coaching and support for it. So there will be a bit more shifting around as this happens.

What About You?

If you’ve read this far then either you really like me, you love blog posts, or this article has struck something in you. Soon, we’ll have completed the first half of the year.

• What has happened this year that is not to your liking professionally or in your business?
• What lessons have you learnt from your experience?
• How will you make the right changes or get back on track if you’ve fallen off?

I’d love to hear from you so scroll down to the Comments section and let me know what’s going on for you.

And if you want a deeper process, then book a Discovery Call to find out which of our programs is suitable for you.

(Image credit: Unsplash)