Hey guys! I’m finally back out of my rut! Real-life got in the way, and, uh, I had to work on some mental health issues but welcome back to Claire’s Cre8tive Club! The hub for porudictives, Cre8tives, and/or Geeks!
So today we’re talking about pivoting goals and why/when you should and how it’s NOT the same thing as a failure even though sometimes it might feel like it.
Hit that like button if you can totally relate to feeling uneasy about changing a long-term goal!
While I”m naturally a very indecisive person (see my channel rebranding video); I’m not talking about changing goals on a whim. I’m talking about goals you’ve been working on for months, years or maybe even your whole LIFE that *just* hasn’t manifested yet.
If you’ve been dedicated that much time, effort and maybe even money into your goal that’s still just a dream … when does it become SENSIBLE for a MIND SHIFT PIVOT?
I’ve found myself at such crossroads twice this year. And it’s really taken a toll on me mentally. Because at first it didn’t feel like growth. It felt like a fail. It felt downright unfair. I’m not one to give into the “why me” syndrome but at times when comparing how hard I worked to where I actually was – it felt extremely unfair.
I was a kind, hard-working person; why wasn’t I getting ahead? And, when is it time to change life directions? Well, I did a little soul-searching and I wanted to share my thoughts about changing long-term goals. Because when I realized I’ve been trying to be a morning person since 2014 — almost six years now; it’s likely not going to happen. But then I remembered just how long I’ve been a night owl. Since high school!
So let’s see, 17 years of being a Night Owl since Junior year of high school in 2002, about 17 years, versus 6 years of totally re-wiring my brain to convert from team Night Owl to team Miracle Morning 4:00 am Club. And I know what you’re thinking: “Gee, Claire, why not try 5:00 AM or 6:00 AM?”
Yup! I tried that too! Sometimes I could get up at 5:30 AM and still feel like a major win, but it still wasn’t satisfying to me because it wasn’t 4:00 AM!
I know, I know. I totally have a super bad habit of being an “all or nothing” kind of girl. And I’ve tried to work on that too. I know it’s not about all or nothing. I know every moment matters. But I find I’m unable to change that mindset. I really have been working on it the last month. And it’s been helping. But it’s hard to change who you are overnight!
But back to pivoting life goals; here are some tips on how to feel that changing major goals can be good, healthy and even motivating!
1. Think of it like a business plan and you’re the CEO of your own life.
If your goal is to workout before work in the morning, and you’ve spent years trying to mindshift into a morning person but just hasn’t been able to meet your annual goals … what would any boss do to that employee that constantly under-preforms?
Well, chances are, they’d be fired. Sadly, that’s the way the world works. So think of that as a separate entity of your mind; and give yourself permission to FIRE that goal. You will feel a huge weight off your shoulders as you HIRE a new goal to feel motivated in that failed goal’s place.
But sometimes it’s hard to let go of an employee.
To help move on during internal company transitions; give your old goal a proper “exit interview” so YOU can feel a sense of closure. And maybe don’t think of it that you failed that goal; but rather, that goal wasn’t moving the company’s business model forward … i.e; your lifestyle, in a better direction. By giving it a proper send-off, you can also give yourself permission to move on and grow from the mistakes or perhaps what about that goal didn’t work for you. Write down these thoughts and reflections in some type of journal as a way to truly let that employee go so your Biz can move on!
2. Keep a record of all the times you’ve tried before.
You don’t need a complete diary or memoir (unless you want to!) but write down a few milestones of memories that your goal DID go well. When you glance down at all your achievements were successful, this will help you learn some lessons from your goal. And give you a reminder that it all wasn’t a total waste of time. I think, at least for me, that’s why it feels like such a fail. Because maybe you don’t have anything physically manifested from your efforts and time. So, it may truly feel like a waste.
BONUS TIP: When you do find another goal to replace that former employee, try keeping a brief track record of when you achieve that daily goal. Maybe just choose a color pen to represent that goal, and either write a checkmark or an X if you didn’t do it that day.
That way, you can feel the progress happening or not, even if the results aren’t yet visible to anyone else. Like working out for example or studying a new language.
Whatever your goal, by tracking it every day or at least once a week, you can give yourself a bit of a progress report. This may help motivate you to go forward because you’ll be excited when you see all of those checkmarks!
3. Call it an experiment.
One way to really help make a ‘failed’ goal not feel like a total failure is simply rephrasing it in your mental chatter. By calling it an experiment, it almost sounds natural that it didn’t work. After all, the very definition of an experiment is a TEST. So what if that goal wasn’t for you? You tested it out and now you know. And by realizing it wasn’t for you, it helps you look for a new experiment to test on!
Remember what Thomas Edison said about experiments: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Cliche as that quote might have become, it is true. Keep failing until you’ve found the one that works! Or find a new experiment to try if your passion for the old one has expired. Which is totally natural. Sometimes, we just get into different things at different points in our lives!
Well guys, I hope that helped you interpret an experiment so changing goals doesn’t feel like a fail.
In conclusion, it’s okay to change your goals, no matter how long you’ve been working on them! It doesn’t make you pathetic or anything negative as maybe you first feel when you realize it’s just not working anymore. And it’s okay if someone else you admire has made better or faster progress than you on the same goal. It just means you’re human and that maybe that goal wasn’t your jam after all. Nothing wrong with changing life directions.
So go ahead, put your best foot forward and try to hire another goal for yourself! You deserve to move forward instead of keeping dead weight bringing your company down.
Have you ever changed a major life goal and felt less than stellar about it? How did you move on? Share in the comments, you never know who you might inspire!
Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button to jon me in the next post, and I’ll catch you guys next time! Remember to cre8te often and be kind always!
Have a great day,
