The end of the year is almost here. Our inboxes and social media feeds are beginning to fill up with cool journals, new programs, offers and ideas about our 2022 goals. I am a complete goal junkie, so I get pretty excited at this time of year thinking about "what's next."
But, one thing I have learned about goals and particularly about fitness and health goals, is that the success of the next goal depends on an honest reflection of how I've done this year. There is good information to be mined from how it went, EVEN if I didn't meet the goal. In fact, the goals I didn't reach have some of the best "gold" to be mined.
I have 10 questions to share with you. These 10 questions will help you review your lessons learned, discoveries made, and obstacles surmounted. They will help you draw out the positives so that you can leverage them in your 2022 goal plan. They will also help you understand what didn't work and why - so that you don't let history repeat itself. Your reflection helps set you up for success in 2022.
I start here because there is time between when we start and when we stop and it's easy to forget the purpose of the original goal. The first two help me remember things like, what was I dissatisfied with; what problem was I trying to solve; why was it important then; and do I still value this goal or outcome? The third question directs us to look at the actual vs. expected outcome of actions taken. (A great example here is a weight loss goal. If your plan was to exercise to lose weight and you didn't. This question forces you to think about effectiveness of specific actions).
These three questions are designed to draw out the positives which occurred when working toward this goal. These are things that made the goal fun, kept us motivated or new strengths, skills and knowledge acquired. All useful for repeating success.
These three questions dive into the mechanics of how the goal was done and what worked best. In the next pursuit, keep the things that worked well and discard those that didn't. The barriers and obstacles overcome this time will help us anticipate what might be faced next time. (And YIPEE, LOOK at what YOU overcame! Don't forget to celebrate that too!)
Whether a goal is achieved or not, number 9 is important to understand the link between actions and outcomes.
Take a deep breath and thank yourself for what you accomplished AND what you've tried - when will you be celebrating and how will you do it? Rewards are more effective if they are soon, certain and positive - so celebrate as soon as you can!
I would love to hear about your discoveries from these questions, about your successes and celebrations! Comment or schedule a chat!
Jenn