Five Reasons to Give Up on Your Goals

Giving up sounds so negative. But can you make room for the possibility that you can release your goals without being a failure? Yes, you can! Sometimes the goals themselves are unreachable, for reasons outside your control. Don't continue to try and achieve a goal that will only serve to create less than positive results and growth in your business. There are times to let your goal go - or at least set it aside for a while. Here are five of those times:

Not motivated to achieve the goal.

Have you ever made plans to go to a movie with a friend or attend a party, but when it came time to get ready to go, you just couldn't get moving? Maybe you decided you didn't really want to see that show, or you're having a grand old time just sitting on the couch in your sweats with your significant other. Whatever the reason, the motivation is just not there.

If you've tried all the suggestions in my previous posts, and you keep missing deadlines, or taking the next step, or simply not acting on your goal, it may be time to let that goal go, at least for now.

Sometimes it's a disconnect you haven't been able to pinpoint, or sometimes the timing's just not right. It's okay to just set the goal aside and move on to something more attractive. No one's keeping score - I promise.

You don't know what's next.

If you are lost, unsure which direction to go in next, which path to take, or what you really want, it may be time to stop hitting that wall. Instead of feeling like you HAVE to have a goal, take some time to reflect and figure out what you're really trying to achieve with your business or your life.

Though I'm all in favor of action, I think it's much smarter to make sure you're choosing the right goal and the right strategies to achieve them, rather than just acting for the sake of acting. You can't get where you want to go until you know where it is you want to go! Simple enough.

You are exhausted.

Type-A, ultra-motivated goal-setters can burn themselves out pretty quickly. It's hard to stay motivated if you don't have any recovery time, instead bouncing from one huge project to the next. It won't matter how successful you are if you don't have the energy, or give yourself the time, to enjoy your achievements.

If you're bordering on burnout, give yourself a break. Set all your goals aside for a while and just relax. It'll pay off in the long run.

You don't feel as positive about the goal any longer.

Contrary to popular belief, it is okay to change your mind. You may be halfway to a goal, or even closer, and decide it's a bad idea or it's just not a goal that you long for anymore. That's okay. Really.

If you think you've changed your mind about a goal, take time to ask yourself "why." Is it a higher-level objective issue? A strategy issue? Or are you just not sure? Figure out how you feel about your goal before you decide to let it go. If after you've explored your "why" and your feelings about your goal, you decide letting go of your goal is the right thing for you right now, release it and move on. No regrets - just lessons learned.

As a final thought on this topic, I can't resist putting in this quote for obvious reasons:

"The only thing you live to regret are the risks you didn't take."

~Anonymous~