When thinking about trying to reach a goal, the key is to make small continuous steps every day, slowly progressing towards your goal over time. Author, John Maxwell said, “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” Success is most often not achieved overnight, and takes time, patience, and consistency. In an article published by Forbes about the importance of consistency, they write, “So many businesses fail because the people running them lack consistency in terms of carrying out the tasks required to make goals achievable. I have had the privilege of working with many business owners around the globe, and people are often so surprised when I say that it’s not talent or knowledge that separates those who succeed from those who do not. If I look back through the thousands I have worked with directly and even more conversations I have had, the one thing that sets apart people who reach their absolute potential from everyone else is undeniably consistency.” There are some pitfalls people can find themselves in, that prevent them from being consistent, and in today’s blog we’ll look into those and ways to overcome them so you can keep progressing towards your goals.
Making Too Big of a Goal
One of the pitfalls people can find themselves in that prevents them from reaching a goal is being too ambitious and having unrealistic timelines. When you put too much pressure on yourself, it’s often not sustainable, so you quickly give up trying to reach your goals. This is often the case with New Year’s Resolutions, and a better solution is to come up with realistic and attainable goals that you can reach in the next 3, 6, 9 months. You want to think about goals that challenge you, but don’t overwhelm you. Look at your next year and start to think about what projects you want to complete and what goals you’d like to accomplish, then put together a manageable timeframe for reaching them and daily action steps you can take.
Losing Sight of Your Goal
Another reason people aren’t able to stay consistent is that they lose sight of their goals and their motivation. When you’re working towards something slowly over time, it can get monotonous, and you might become bored and uninspired after the initial phase. This is where accountability can come in and help you during these tough times. This could look like having a schedule to ensure you are reaching your targets or letting someone else know your goal and having them be your accountability buddy and checking in and encouraging you. In another article on Forbes they write, “When you continue to show up as yourself and for others, you demonstrate your accountability as a leader and human being. Your consistency also means you’ll earn a rock-solid reputation as someone who always means what she says and says what she does. And that dependability helps build and maintain trust, the ultimate currency of business.”