Progress

Why do you set goals? We set goals so that we can measure progress. What I want to emphasize today is that any goal reached is progress. Sometimes just setting goals becomes a chore. When we don’t feel confident that we will accomplish something, setting a goal around it is not something we feel very comfortable doing.

So how do you set goals if you are not confident? Change the goal. That’s right, you can change the goal. It is your goal; therefore you can choose what it will be. For example, a client said to me, “I’m not sure I can make it to the gym 3 days per week right now.” After talking about her situation, it was clear that this was a temporary scheduling issue. We agreed that 2 days per week would be better than nothing over the course of the month that the schedule was going to be challenging.

Now some may say, the goal is 3 days; we have to get 3 days. I agree with that mentality. What I don’t agree with is the idea that once a goal is set, it cannot be changed. I believe that it is better to change a goal and reach it than to stick to an unrealistic goal and fail. The real failure that we run into is not our lack of ability or even our lack of effort. The real failure is simply our failure to set realistic goals.

The moral of the story is: Setting realistic goals from the start is the key to success. We’ve already discussed the definition of success and how reaching your goal is the only requirement to achieving it. Well, if your goal is to do more than you did last week and you do, that is success. If your goals are unrealistic from the start, it will be more difficult to succeed.

Your coach is there to help you get things off to a good start. The rest is up to you. Setting your goals, sharing your challenges and motivating factors and communicating your confidence level will help you get on track. You and your coach will work together to keep you on track.