What To Do When You Feel like Giving Up on Your Goal

When we first set a goal, we are excited and usually start on point! As the weeks pass some of us lose motivation and start to think about giving up on our goal.  Before you do that, check out these ideas. 

Check in with yourself.  Do you really want to accomplish this goal? That may sound like a strange question to ask, but so often we set goals just to set them. Or, we don’t really think about why we are setting them and just pick something randomly. Or, we set them because we feel like we should. If you don’t really want to accomplish your goal take a step back a figure out a goal that is more meaningful to you.

Revisit/Redefine your why. Once you know it is a goal you truly want to accomplish take a deeper look at your why. What is that driving force? Why must you achieve this goal? Why is that important? Keep asking yourself why until you’ve reached that aha moment. Once you figure it out and are more excited/determined to reach your goal, look at it daily. It can be as simple as a word or a sentence. I like to look at mine in the morning. It helps to set the tone for the day. 

Create/Revamp your plan. Often times we set these big picture goals and then just move forward with our lives thinking it will just happen. We don’t create a plan, or a set of habits we need to build. Maybe you have a plan, but you are not executing it. Write down your barriers and solutions to each. If your habits are a little too lofty, switch it up. Start with something small. Maybe it’s a 2-minute walk, instead of a 30-minute walk. 2-minutes of walking is better than zero. And, chances are you may extend your walk once you start. Either way you can build up to 30-minutes. 

Celebrate small wins. Don’t wait to celebrate until you reach your big picture goal. Celebrate the little things and acknowledge the forward progress! You are giving yourself credit for the work you are putting in and reigniting some motivation.

Track it. At the end of the day check in and mark down if you completed your goal/habit that day. For example, I track my workouts. For me it is empowering and motivating. It also allows me to see if I am on track towards my goals. At the end of the year, I can see how many workouts I accomplished! Another example, If you had a goal to drink more water, writing down your water intake for the day could be helpful. You can see how many days of the month you reached your water goal. This helps you see your small wins! It also makes it a little bit like a game, which is fun!

Hire a coach. Having an outside perspective, an expert in the field, someone to bounce ideas off of, help you create a plan, and check in with you can be so helpful. I have a running and strength coach. I love not having to think about what workout I should do. I save so much mental energy and am confident that each workout is moving me closer to my goals. 

Get an accountability partner. If you can’t get a coach or just want addiitonal support, find someone who is working towards a similar goal. Decide how frequently you will check in. Maybe it is sending him/her a text at the end of the day or calling each other to make sure you are both up for your morning workout. You can trouble shoot any barriers you encounter and hold each other accountable to what you said you were doing to do.

Set your environment up for success. Take away as many barriers as possible. For example, if you are going to work out in the morning lay your workout clothes out the night before. If you need to pack your lunch and prep your breakfast the night before so you are ready for work on time, do it. Know what workout you are going to do. If you have a coach who takes care of that great, if not, figure it out the night before. No detail is too small!

You don’t have to love it all the time. A big aha moment for me was knowing that I may not want to start every assigned workout, but when I am finished I am always glad I did it. It’s the action of doing the workout that provides motivation to do another. Sometimes you just need to take action and get the momentum rolling! 

You got this! As Babe Ruth said, “It’s hard to beat someone who doesn’t give up.” You may have setbacks, but as long as you don’t give up, you’ll get there!