When it comes to setting life goals, all too often we tend to take a “set ‘em and forget ‘em” approach.
But this strategy isn’t ideal. Assessing and reassessing your life goals is important. Life changes—and when it does, our priorities do too. Continually re-evaluating your goals is the only way to ensure that you’re still pursuing something that’s relevant and important to you.
This is where intentional living comes in. Living intentionally, in a way that’s in line with your big picture dreams and aspirations, is an essential part of leading a happy and fulfilled life.
Additionally, taking a good, analytical look at your goals is also important for seeing how well you’re progressing; allowing you to ensure that you’re on-track, and showing you what you can do to better reach your goals!
With this in mind, let’s look at a few ways that you can intentionally reassess your life goals today.
Revisit Your Original Goals
Often, as you grow and change, your goals and priorities change too. This doesn’t mean your entire life has derailed; it just means your goals need to be adjusted to fit into your latest plans and priorities. When assessing your goals, you’ll want to start by revisiting your original goals and see which ones are still relevant. You’ll want to measure the desire that you have for your goals and ask yourself if you’re still passionate about accomplishing the same things that you were when you set the goals originally.
It’s important to note that getting rid of a goal because it is simply ‘too difficult’ is far different from eliminating a goal due to a change in priorities or interests. Don’t let yourself off that easily! If a goal is still relevant, then, by all means, keep on pursuing it. Don’t give up on your dreams simply because they present a bit of a challenge. Instead, check your motivation and make sure it’s up to par!
Evaluate Your Techniques
Ideally, each of your goals should be broken down into a series of steps that you can take to reach them. This is one aspect of goal-setting that often needs to be reevaluated along the way. This is because our plans, while they may have sounded great in the beginning, aren’t always the most ideal method for reaching our goals. Of course, once you begin pursuing your goal, you’ll discover that there may be a different route to take that would be far better than the one that you’d originally settled on.
For example, say your goal is to chip away at credit card debt. If after a few months you realize that you’ve not been as successful as you’d like to have been, you may need to adjust your technique. Perhaps you need to set up an auto-payment plan that will ensure that a certain amount is applied to the balance each month. Or maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your expenses. Whatever your goal is, it’s a good idea to assess your technique, just to make sure it’s still the best route for you to take.
Adjust the Timing
When assessing your goals, it’s also important to check the timeline that you’ve created for yourself and ensure that it is still feasible. There’s nothing wrong with making some adjustments to help you better succeed. Often, our struggle to reach our goals comes down to an issue with timing. In some cases, you might need to slow things down at certain points in your life, while at other points you may be able to breeze on through. This isn’t a race—it’s about reaching your goals in a timely fashion and feeling good about it on the way.
Track Your Progress
One of the best ways to track your progress is by keeping a record. By writing down your accomplishments, achievements, and milestones, you’ll then be able to look back over the previous months and see that you are making progress. This will encourage you to keep going! Remember your goals are there to help you achieve something that is important to you. While it’s nice to focus on the end goal, celebrate the smaller victories that help you get there as well.
While goal-setting is important, it’s just the first step! In order to reach your goals, you’ll need to continually evaluate them to determine whether they’re still worth pursuing and to make sure you’re progressing towards them. At the end of the day, it’s not about forcing yourself to strive for an arbitrary objective that you set out for yourself, but about leading a life that’s as fulfilled as possible. Continually evaluating your goals will help you to ensure that you’re on-track and pursuing goals that are worth your time and effort.
Do you reassess your goals regularly? How do you evaluate them?