It’s around 3pm and you need a pick me up. After a bad night’s sleep, you’ve already spent the morning dealing with customer service after your laptop wouldn’t turn on. You’re already behind on work when your supervisor throws another project on your plate. Feeling tired and overwhelmed, you reach for a cookie. Then another. Soon you’ve eaten the whole sleeve. The healthy dinner and workout you had planned mock you. Ordering take-out seems like the only appropriate way to end the day.
We’re all hit with these kinds of days now and then. Choosing how we respond to setbacks sets us up for failure or success. Think of these small choices–or habits–as building blocks. We all have a pile of building blocks that we need to construct to reach our goal. If we add blocks on most days, we’ll soon have a strong structure that we can rely on. Missing a day or two won’t have a huge impact and you can easily resume building. But ignoring the blocks altogether? Well, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
So what can we do after a setback?
- Acknowledge that difficulties will always be a reality
When mapping out a goal, it can be very easy to forget to plan for inevitable setbacks. When we write down goals or plan for positive change, we usually do so in a state of motivation and enthusiasm. Taking a moment to reflect on two future challenges that you might face along the way will help you mentally prepare for these challenges and plan for how you will move forward.
- Plan for enjoyment
In the prepping stage for a goal there’s a tendency towards rigidity. Leaving room for fun and enjoyment sets us up for success. This could come in the form of celebrating checkpoints, rewarding milestones, or scheduling allowances. I love frequent desserts, but when I want to focus on getting lean, I allow myself to enjoy twice a week as opposed to daily. Twice is enough to anticipate the enjoyment while also staying on track for my goal. Another one of my favorites is scheduling dinners and drinks with friends. When I am cutting back on alcohol intake I like to book a nice dinner with friends a month or two in advance. This gives me something to look forward to and stay motivated. In this way, enjoyment becomes part of the goal.
- Remember your why.
Any goal worth achieving has to have a big ol WHY. It will serve as the foundation for staying on track when things get hard. Two of my biggest whys for any goal I set are: 1) I like who I am more when I stick to my goals, and 2) I know other people aren’t putting in the same effort and that motivates me.
Success all comes down to doing the little but hard things over and over again. These are the building blocks with the potential to become something great. The steps I’ve laid out will help you set yourself up for consistent progress while finding ways to enjoy the process. Thanks for reading!
