“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.” ~ Peter Drucker
Six months ago many of us set New Year’s resolutions. Statisticallyonly 8% of us will keep them by the end of the year.
Last December we found out that the most active Lift users are 4.5x better at keeping to their resolutions than the average American.
What habit helps them stick to their goals? Reviewing their progress regularly.
Reviewing your goals is as important as setting them.
The same Lift users set aside time daily or weekly for reflection and renewal. They also made their personal development the #1 priority in their lives.
Sometimes we get so caught up in setting and tracking goals that we forget to take time to review on our progress toward them.
It’s exciting to write down a list of new goals. It’s fun to see personal progress data compiled and animated in pretty graphs. But it’s scary to view our progress with a critical eye– it means we have to overcome our fear of failure.
If you find fear of failure blocking you from reviewing your goals, here are some tips to help you overcome it:
1. Celebrate your successes when you review goals, not just the holes in your performance.
2. Realize that failure is a reflection of the goal, not you. Even people with 100 day streaks on Lift have trouble reaching goals that don’t fit into their established routines:
“If the task ‘feels’ too large, or that I don’t have enough clear time to do it, I end up procrastinating with other things instead.”
3. Focus on continuous improvement. Your review is the perfect time to figure out what is blocking you from reaching the next level. Aim for improvement and success will inevitably come.
How to start a habit of reviewing your goals:
Right Now: Go to your calendar and set aside 10 minutes this weekend to reflect on your goals this year. Keep this time sacred.
Then: During your review, find a way to improve on one goal. Create a new calendar event for your next review and write your mini-progress goal in the notes section. Track your goals on Lift.
Image© CC idea-saras on Flickr and inspired by @aliciatweet
