Although it might be disheartening that the summer is over, the new season gives us a chance to regroup and tackle what's on our plate differently. While fall may not give us the clean slate sensation that January 1 does, many people still see it as a new beginning and the opportunity to start again. One way to do that is refreshing your goals for fall in a way that will help you to stick to them.
“One way to follow through on goals is by making realistic goals and also smaller goals that take you where you want to be,” Dagmar Bryant, a transformational coach, tells Bustle. “Focus on two aspects, the macro and the micro — the big-picture result and the progress steps needed to get there.”
But as Bryant points out, many times people say they want to change, but don't want to do what it takes to make that change. It's in these cases that maybe refreshing your goals can help. They're still the same goals, but you're looking at them and tackling them differently.
Because sometimes all you need in life is a new perspective to make magic happen, here are six ways to refresh your goals for fall.
1
Create A Seasonal Goal
The best part about refreshing your goals in fall is that the end of the year is right around the corner. Because of this, you don't feel like you're signing up for the long-haul.
"Think about fall as a three-month-long period to focus on one goal," Jenn DeWall, a millennial life and career coach, tells Bustle. "Invest your energy and time toward actualizing and taking action on that one specific goal. It could either be a three month goal, or perhaps a three month segment designed to server a long-term goal."
A good example of the latter: if you want new job by March, looking at the next three months as a time to focus on networking can help take the pressure off actually interviewing before you're ready to take the leap.
2
Write A One-Year Vision Statement
For those who want to look past a goal that can be achieved within three months, choose a day, then write a one-year vision statement that's to last, well, exactly one year to the day.
"This is great because it begins one year from whenever you start it," DeWall says. "This can be a vision statement that is very broad, highlighting what you want your entire life to look like one year from today, or more specific, like what you want your career to look like one year from today. Write the vision statement in present tense as if it's already happened."
Even if you're not a believer of manifesting your own destiny there is still something that can be said for writing down your goals and sticking to them. It forces you to not give up as easily, because they're constantly right in front of you.
3
Practice Visualizing Your Future
Whether it's your one-year vision statement or some other goal that you'd like to achieve, DeWall suggests you practice visualizing having it already. A good way to do this is to read it out loud every week. Or, if you prefer, once a day is good too. Whatever you think it will take for you to get your mind and heart on board with making your goals, a year from now, a reality.
"You will increase your energy and commitment to your goals as you are frequently focused on them," DeWall says.
When it comes to goals, focus and determination are everything.
4
Set An Intention
Since we're, for the most part, not looking beyond a year for an end goal, DeWall says to "think of your intention as a sentence or less, perhaps even a word, that embodies how you want to show up for the rest of the year." If you give yourself a one-year deadline, it's far easier to see than, say, a five-year deadline. So every day you put something toward that achieving that goal.
"By setting a deadline you are allowing yourself a short time frame to focus on the intention which can make it less overwhelming," DeWall says. "This is great for people that tend to set overly ambitious and unrealistic goals where they tend to give up after feeling failure."
If you break this intention down into quarters, you can revisit it at the start of the year and see where things are and if the intention needs to be adjusted a bit.
5
Divide Your Goal Into Three Parts
Because one of the biggest things you want to prevent is giving up on your set goals, DeWall suggests breaking it up into three attainable parts: good, better, and best. Then determine what those three parts look like to you.
"For example, if you're trying to get more active maybe 'good' looks like walking once per week," DeWall says. "[Then] 'better' looks like running once a week and going to a yoga class, and 'best' looks like exercising five days a week."
If you try this approach to your goal, you'll be less disappointed in yourself if you don't follow through all the time. Sure, "good" isn't "best" on your list of divisions, but there's still nothing wrong with "good."
6
Understand What Success Means To You
The word success means different things to different people. For some, success is getting to the job they hate on time every day, while for others success means having a 401k, a house in the Hamptons, and a Bentley in garage. What people define as success has everything to do with where they come from, what they value, and what they want for themselves. In other words, there is no one definition of success, because its meaning is personal.
In refreshing your goals for fall, DeWall suggests you create an overarching goal, but one in which you "give yourself different definitions of success." Keep this definition based on your core values and what you now you're capable of, so you don't end up falling short and disappointing yourself.
7
The summer was great, but now it's time to get back to business. Looking at the fall as a chance to sort of start again, as opposed to just saying goodbye to summer, will give you something to look forward and a new lease on the next three months.
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