Are you confused about your goals?
You have a goal, you know what you want to accomplish and you’ve set a deadline for when that goal will be reached. But then something happens: and you get confused about your goals.
Maybe the project takes longer than expected. Perhaps you lose motivation. Or maybe life throws you a curveball, and it feels impossible to keep up with your goals while dealing with other responsibilities.
No matter what happens, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and confused about your goals. It can feel as if they’re not going to happen because of all these obstacles getting in the way. But there are things you can do to make sure that doesn’t happen!
Here are three steps you can take when you’re feeling confused about your goals:
1) Take some time for yourself!
When you’re feeling confused about your goals, it’s easy to get stuck in your head and start thinking about everything that needs to be done. Then everything else gets added on top of it (like laundry and housework). Before long, it feels like there’s no way out.
Take some time for yourself! Whether this means planning a relaxing day at home or taking a walk outside in nature, make sure that you’re giving yourself time every day where nothing else matters. This is when you release the need to succeed and give in to flow. When you’re in flow, you’ll be able to make better decisions and feel less despair about any confusion in your goals.
2. Just keep going
When you’re confused about your goals and feeling stuck, the most important thing you can do is keep going.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our own heads that we forget why we’re doing what we’re doing. But when it comes down to it, there’s only one way out of this confusion: keep going. Keep moving forward, even if you don’t know where you’re headed.
When you get lost in your thoughts and feelings and don’t know what to do next, just take action. Do something—anything—that moves you toward your goal. It doesn’t have to be big or flashy or even directly related to your goal; it just has to be something that gets you moving again.
The more time we spend thinking about what we should do next (or how long the journey will take), the more paralysed by inaction we become. So just do something!
3. Consider what excites you
It’s important to know that hustling for your goals isn’t going to help you in the long run. Oftentimes, when you’re confused about your goals it’s because you’re trying to do too much at once. Step back and focus on doing more of the work that excites you. When you do this, you reinvigorate your purpose and it can tell you if you are on the right path for now, or if you may need to change course.
Two bonus points if you’re feeling confused about your goals
Ask yourself these questions to help flesh out what you need right now. What do you want to accomplish in the next year? The next 5 years? The rest of your career? What are the most important things in life? How can they be connected to your work goals?
When you answer these questions, you should begin to see why you’re confused about your goals and start to reorient your efforts in a direction that suits you better.
It’s easy to feel lost when you’re feeling confused about your goals. The good news is, there are plenty of ways to get back on track and make sure that your goals are aligned with your values. So try these tips the next time you’re feeling stuck, down, unmotivated and see what magic you can create to get back on track. Remember that rest and stepping away from projects are equally as important as the actions you take to achieve your goals.
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I’m Puja McClymont. I specialise in coaching individuals and organisations to expand the possibilities of their potential through self-leadership, creating further growth and meaningful impact.
Through my distinctive approach which combines ancient wisdom with modern psychology, clients enable every facet of their lives to thrive.
