Goal Planning Tip: Reflection

Planning is a very forward-thinking action. We often look to the future to determine our goals and desired paths. While this is a good practice that will guide you on your journey, it’s important to also look to the past when it comes to goal-planning. 

There is a lot our past actions and achievements can tell us about the future that can facilitate better goals. My goal-planning tip for you is to truly reflect on this past year. Grab your journal and look back at how this year has planned out.

In this blog, I will help you gather and organize your thoughts, so you can create attainable goals in 2021.

Reflect on Your Past Goals

The goals we’ve set for ourselves in the past are just as significant in the future. Ask yourself why you set those goals in the first place. Think about why this goal was important to you at the time. The person you were, your mindset, and your circumstances of the time likely played a role.

What has changed in the time since you created the goals? You are more than likely a different person with a new outlook, mindset, and priorities. This will directly affect how you plan your new goals. The more you understand what your goals were and how they’ve changed over time, the better.

Achieving Past Goals

Now, that we’ve explored past goals, it’s time to look at your past goal achievement. Of the goals, you’ve set previously, did you achieve any of those goals? If you achieved a past goal, reflect on what factors helped you be successful. What factors or methods worked? Your motivation levels, your reward, and the priority of the goal can all factor in.

Now, ask yourself what didn’t work. What challenges did you run into that kept you from achieving your goals? Take a look at what challenges were in your control and which were not. Understanding these challenges can help you better understand how to plan for a better success rate. Maybe you set goals that align better or are high-priority if those are the goals you’ve achieved in the past.

Plan for The Future

Now, that you’ve reflected on your past progress, you can better plan for the future. Take note of commonalities and patterns you may see in your goals. Perhaps you achieved more goals related to your career, but you plan to start a family, so your priorities may change and your goals should reflect this.

When setting your goals, also think about what motivated you then and what is motivating you currently. Perhaps you had an accountability partner that helped you stay in shape. But with other goals, you lacked accountability which didn’t help you in achieving them. Take this into account as you plan for the future, so you can have a higher success rate.

Reflect with a Goal Accountability Coach

If reflecting is something you’re interested in diving in deeper and you want to achieve more of your goals in 2021, consider working with a goal accountability coach. I help you create goals that align with you, I cheer you on along the way and help you adjust as needed.

Want to learn more about the services I offer and how you can start working with me just in time for the New Year? Head to https://ray-va.com/goal-accountability-services/ to see my packages, pricing, and book a call!