Am I Taking Too Long?

Is there any such thing as going too slow when it comes to your goals?  Yes and no.  I recently got this question on IG (follow me if you aren’t already!).  And I thought wow - this is such a good question AND it’s actually not the most straightforward answer.  This is so nuanced and the reason is - that everyone is different.  My approach to goal setting is very personalized.  You’ve heard me say it before but I will say it again - there is no one size fits all answer to goals.  So the best answer to this question is one that you analyze and decide on your own - it's the only way you will know if you are going too slow.  So let’s get into how you determine that.

First, in case you are wondering, my 60 second answer to this question is no.  You can watch my hot take here. The key here is that you have a freaking plan!  If you don’t have a plan there is a good chance you are going too slow because you are just a leaf in the wind and not making a concerted effort towards your goals.  I have another blog post that goes fully into goal setting (I actually have many about goals - so poke around on the blog a bit!) and you can also check out Motivate to Elevate for more goal setting tips, tricks etc.  Here is the quick and dirty version of goal setting.  You need a goal that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time oriented (SMART goal).  Then you need a plan to support that goal.  Here is a quick example.  I am going to lose 4 pounds this month.  This is a totally doable goal for me and it hits all of the SMART elements.  But now what?  This is where your action plan comes into play.  How are you going to achieve this goal?  Will you workout 30 minutes daily?  Will you cut out alcohol for the month?  Will you detox from sugar?  Stop drinking soda?  Portion your food?  Count your macros?  Do keto? Paleo? Weight watchers?  For every goal there are a thousand different ways to get there - so find what works for you.

Write down your plan and put it on a calendar. Schedule it!  If it isn’t scheduled its not likely to happen.  Once you have this foundation - the goal, the plan, the schedule, then you can really start analyzing if this is taking you too long or not.  Below are some things to ask yourself if you are wondering if you are going too slow.

• Did I schedule out my plan and actually make the time to accomplish it?  If you didn’t do this step - then yes, you are going to slow.  You are slowing down your progress by not making the time for it.  Now, let’s be real.  We are all busy.  But we all have the ability to create the time we want and need for our goals.  What does this goal mean to you?  If you really want it - make the time for it.

• What happened during my specified time period?  Is it possible that something unexpected came up that delayed your progress? (And I don’t mean tickets to an all you can eat buffet).  I am talking about life.  Did someone get sick (did you get sick?)?  Did you experience a traumatic or life altering event?  Did you get some news that knocked the wind out of your sails?  Are you under extreme stress at work?  There are legitimate reasons why your goal might not be moving as fast as you had planned, wished, hoped.  And that is OKAY!  Give yourself some grace.  You are not a machine.

• Perhaps during the time period you hoped for, you realized your goal wasn’t actually realistic for your life.  This happened to me (more times than I like to admit).  If you are a go getter and you set yourself big goals - this is likely to happen.  I know that I have set out to do big things like run a marathon and realized wow this takes a lot of my time. I prioritized my goal, but I also had to ask for help in other areas of my life.  This is a classic “I just added to my plate” scenario.  When we decide to go after a goal we have to look at our WHOLE life and figure out what is most important, what is least important, and what do I need to delegate.  What areas of my life do I need to ask for help in?

• Okay, next question - if you made time for your goal and you actively took your steps toward it, are you making progress?  This is an important question to ask because if you ARE making progress then by default you are not going too slow.  We often, so freaking often, think we can do things faster than is reality.  Dave Ramsey always says this about starting a business for example (paraphrasing) “it always takes more time than you think, more money than you think and it’s harder than you think it will be.”  Maybe it's been two weeks and you lost 1 pound.  You might not be on pace to hit your goal at the end of 4 weeks but you ARE making progress.  That is all that matters.

Sometimes the progress you are making doesn’t feel like it is getting you to your goal.  So for example, with a weight loss goal, it is not unusual to not see the weight go away at the pace in which you would prefer.  But so often, your body is changing.  Your cells are getting healthier, you are experiencing an increase in energy, you can feel your pants fitting a little looser, you can see the change in your belly.  THIS IS PROGRESS!  It might not be the progress you expected or wanted, but you have to trust that any progress you make is going to end up resulting in overall progress toward your bottom line goal that you set (in this case weight).

Another example to drive this one home, is in business.  You might not be hitting your financial goal, but if you are making connections, growing your following and continuing to share about your business, you are indeed making progress.  

• Last question to ask yourself, how has this goal getting process felt to you?  Have you felt energetic and excited?  Are you noticing little bits of progress?  Does it make you happy?  Bring you joy?  Or has the process been dreadful? Do you hate even thinking about it?  Going after a goal can be hard and it won’t always be joyful - but overall, deep down, does it feel right?  Do you feel like you are on the right track?  For this one, I would spend some time journaling.  Take 30 minutes and just write.  Write everything that comes to mind about your goal and your journey thus far and see what all comes up for you.  Taking that time in peace and quiet can be so revealing. 

After you ask yourself all these questions, you might find you need to make some tweaks to your goals so that you can make more progress.  If this is you, this is exactly what my MAP goal achievement coaching helps you with.  Sometimes it is just so hard to see what we need to do to make our goals work for us and outside counsel can be so helpful.  If you want to learn more about that - book a free call with me here. Making small tweaks can be all you need to do to be more successful and achieve your goals.  It might be a time thing or asking for help thing. Only you can decide what you need. 

You might also find after asking yourself these questions, that you are doing just fine.  You are making progress, you are feeling good.  It might not be as fast as you hoped, but it is still going in the direction you dream of.  And this is a beautiful thing!  Rarely are we going too slow!  Most of the time we are just going slower than we thought.  Have more questions about goals that you want my hot take on?  Or maybe it will turn into a whole blog post?  Email me at [email protected]!

Go forth and get those goals my friends!  <3