Five powerful ways to deal with unaccomplished goals

We have about 46 days remaining before we kiss 2021 goodbye! This fact alone can cause anxiety especially if we have unaccomplished goals. Believe me, you are not alone.

At the beginning of the year, I had a series of goals that I wanted to smash including finally publishing my sports memoir! To be honest, life is meaningless without goals so when we fail to accomplish them we feel disoriented. It is a bit of a relief though when you realize that many people, even the best and the brightest, struggle with thoughts of inadequacy when they fail to accomplish their goals. So, let us not despair! 
Here is how we can salvage the remaining days before a new year:  

1.   Take time to celebrate your wins instead of focusing on what you did not accomplish!  
The sad truth is that many people rarely take the time to enjoy their successes, be it big or small: instead, they race off to the next goal, missing the rare opportunity to feel super motivated and energized for the next assignment. And because our ambitions keep evolving, we tend to forget how far we came. Before we digest the next point, let us begin on a celebratory note. Take a pen and list down all your achievements this year, then take a moment to appreciate and acknowledge the hard work you put in. Now pat yourself on the back and say I have done well! And for heaven’s sake don’t allow other people’s achievements to diminish your success.

2.  Find out what prevented you from achieving your goals
This is also a perfect time to dive into what prevented you from attaining your goals. What obstacles did you encounter? How did you sabotage me? What obstacles were out of your control? Of course, there are many valid reasons why people don’t achieve their goals as planned but also a common problem for many of us is giving up before we get there. Sometimes not achieving your goal might reinforce the belief that you won’t be able to accomplish it but the good news is that if you can identify new strategies for attaining your goals based on your prior failed attempts then the chances of success increase greatly. So, don’t give up!

3.  Analyse your goals, are they SMART?
When you set your goals at the beginning of the year, did you have the SMART acronym in mind? Research shows that aligning your goals using this formula can make it much easier for you to navigate through your goals, and increase your chances of achieving them. SMART Goals are:
·        Specific (Simple, sensible, and significant)
·        Measurable (meaningful, motivating)   
·        Achievable (Agreed, attainable)
·        Relevant (reasonable, realistic, and resourced, result oriented)
·        Time-bound (time based, time-limited, and time-sensitive)

4.  Do not scrutinise others’ success
When we admire successful people, we often assume their path to achievement was smooth. But, the truth is that everyone has to overcome failure, disappointment, and loss. Therefore, resist analyzing people’s achievements, you don’t know their full story. You are only seeing the finished product! Additionally, don’t compare yourself to others: their circumstances and goals are not the same as yours. I used to despair whenever I would see new writers publishing their books, but now I am confident that when I am ready, it will be the perfect timing. So, don’t try to rush things that need time to grow because of other people’s successes. Everywhere, we can find people doing better than us, learn to accept that you are on your unique journey!

5.  Break the remaining unaccomplished goals into sub-goals
Often, the end goal can seem so big that it overwhelms and causes you to give up too soon or may even prevent you from starting altogether. These remaining days, instead try to break your unfinished goals into sub-goals that can be easily doable. If doing this does not work for you then try not to think about the remaining month, just focus on the 24 hours right in front of you and do what you can to get closer to where you want to be. Achieving small goals brings satisfaction and motivation and if you stay on target with the small goals, you will eventually get to the big goal finish line. 

Confucius the Chinese philosopher once said, “When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.”To wrap this up, don’t be too hard on yourself, there is a whole new year ahead of us, so push those unfinished goals to 2022!

The writer, Mariam is a sports activist with a master’s in sports management from Real Madrid Graduate School.