How to Make Progress on Your Goals

I believe the flu has finally passed its stay with me! I feel so much better than I did the week before. No more nausea, coughing, and loss of appetite! It is taking me quite a bit to start up a routine for myself so that I am able to hit all my goals progressively every day.

I have a strong belief in “progress not perfection” though and truly feel that at the beginning even disorganized steps towards a routine is better than waiting and waiting for nothing to change. So this week I’m going to be a bit of a mess trying to figure out a rhythm I can keep and then hitting it head on day after day! Things are always hard at the beginning especially.

Set your goals. What is it that you want to accomplish or create as a habit?

Set your reasons. Your goals need to really motivate you and pull you forward. They should excite you when you think of them. Really believe in them and think of them to already be true. How do you feel knowing you are debt-free? To be your own boss? Free to travel where and when you please?

Stick to your affirmations. They will keep you going when progress feels slow or motivation is low.

Make a plan of action. I like to think of all the details beforehand, whether you have fitness, finance, or just a personal goal. I always write them out detailed with what I need to do, any tools I need to have, do I need support and help from specific people, who are these people, allocate time slots to work on my goals, and so on.

Have a contingency plan. It helps to be prepared for obstacles and setbacks. First you want to brainstorm what could go wrong and how you can deal with this. I like to emotionally prepare myself for the setbacks I might face. I start by saying this can happen, and if it does I forgive you because you will move forward still. Forgiveness and strength are my two key factors in building and keeping momentum. Too many times I scolded myself over a setback and rather than feeling like I deserved something for my hard work and focusing on all the progress I had been making, I’d only find myself focused on the minor mishaps I had. This ultimately led me down disappointment, frustration, and self-sabotage. So know what can go wrong, and be prepared beforehand in case it does so that you can quickly bring yourself back on route.

Have confidence. No matter what! Every step you make towards your goals is progress. Do not doubt yourself even if others do so. Do not doubt yourself even when you feel the universe is telling you to do so. Sometimes the best things in life are the ones we have to work the hardest for. The road might not be full of sunshine and pretty flowers, but both the journey and end is always what you make of it.

Enjoy the journey. I feel that so many people get discouraged by focusing on the goals they set, and they are constantly looking for results. Some things will take days, weeks, or even years. When we focus on the process we avoid the thoughts focused on where we aren’t or how slow we are moving. Enjoying the journey enables you to appreciate every day, because you will be taking small steps in your daily routine to reach your goals.

For example, I want to be debt free from my student loans by June 2016. I can either focus on the end goal and think how I still have $7K in loans, how I still have so much to pay off, how I don’t feel I have enough to pay off my balance by my goal date. Yet, I refuse to do this, and it really is a exercise of the way you think. I felt these same thoughts for awhile at first. Then when I started focusing on my progress I found myself far more excitable about my goal and the steps I had been taking all along. I was doing the same actions, but changing my mind frame really made a huge difference. Now I focus on the everyday. Wow, only $7K to go from my original $16K. I only had to spend $20 to fill up on gas today, that’s more money to pay off my loan! Praise to not buying that fast food today! I’m staying healthy and saving money in my food budget to pay off my loan! I’m working today to pay off my loans. I feel liberated already from my student debt because I believe in the actions I am taking daily and am grateful for every extra penny that comes my way. Even when setbacks do happen, like how my car battery needs replacement, rather than focus on the oh no less money in my wallet, more money spent. I think to myself great! I only need to replace the battery! It can be worse, and when it is, it is. I won’t let life throw me down because I get to control how I react so that I can accept what is thrown at me, think positively because things will work out, and take action to get myself back on track.

I hope that you find the strength, confidence, and drive to take actions towards your goals. My goals have remained the same since last week, I feel these are very close to my heart and couldn’t scratch one off for another so I ended up adding to my number of goals rather than changing it up again, as you can see below.

1. Pay off my student loans of $7K by June
2. Develop a routine/schedule/budget to enjoy life more
3. Build my running endurance & speed to a 30 minute/< 5k time by sticking to my 5k training.
4. Live clutter-free by decluttering/cleaning 2x a month and removing all my sale items from my storage
5. Develop healthy eating habits w/weekly meal prepping and planning
6. Build strength and complete 21 Day Fix and be able to do a full push-up and pull-up by 2017
7. Grow my blog by blogging 3x a week& visiting 2 bloggers daily
8. Pursue a career in fitness by helping3 people a month reach their goals
9. Create balance w/daily mediation, weekly yoga/pilates practice
10. Learn new skills starting with practicing Spanish daily with Duolingo and audio books
11. Build my social media presence, beginning with Goal: Reach 1K followers by the end of the month by developing a consistent focus with quality photos.

Link Ups: Weekly Chase via Road Runner Girl and Weekly Wrap via MissSippiPiddlin