4 Tips to Keep Progressing on Your Goals Consistently

As a coach, my work revolves around helping people with their goals. There are so many aspects to it – that’s why we often do this work one-on-one, because every person is so unique.

But there are four common bumps in the road, and I wanted to share ideas for how to resolve them.

Common Roadblock #1

“I didn’t set goals because I’m not even sure what I want.”

Common causes

Many people I speak with share that they're not really sure what they want in various parts of life.

Yet, in my experience, I find that with some encouragement and support, they soon begin to discover – with clarity – that they do know what they want.

There can be different life experiences that can make that self-knowledge hard to access, such as past disappointments, even trauma, or being in environments or with people that communicated that you weren't allowed to want things.

My advice

Pick one small thing that is clear that you want to do. Maybe it’s something you’ve wanted to do for a long time.

Don’t discard this “want” because maybe it seems silly, or not terribly significant. Just use it to set a goal and start taking action.

Then, notice how that makes you feel. Take a moment to reflect: Is this shedding light on something bigger that I want for myself? (I bet it will! Our ability to tune into ourselves and our wants is a practice that we can strengthen and grow.)

Common Roadblock #2

“I started out strong but now I’ve all but abandoned my goals. I’ve got to get back on it.”

Common causes

Setting goals feels good. Making progress on our goals feels good too. Often, we can make good initial progress riding on these good feelings, and on our willpower.

Yet – as we all know – life happens. There are so many things that can get in the way of our progress: getting sick, travel or other disruptions to routine, work deadlines, etc.

My advice

If there’s no question that this goal is the right one for you right now, and you'd like to get back on track, then first, give yourself a big dose of self-compassion. No need to beat yourself up for getting off track; that doesn’t help long-term with motivation.

Instead, look back with curiosity at what got you off track. Then, plan your next step to get back on track and also identify any future obstacles that could get in your way. Make a plan for what you will do when these roadblocks (re)appear.

Common Roadblock #3

“My goals are still important to me, but I’m not really making progress. I keep procrastinating."

Common causes

Psychologists have found that we typically procrastinate when we are trying to avoid experiencing some kind of emotion. Our task is stirring up some emotion that we'd rather not feel, like boredom, anxiety or fear of failure, and that's why we often want to supplant it with something nicer (funny cat videos! chocolate! lying down!).

When a client shares that they're procrastinating with a goal, my first question is whether this goal is really the right goal for them. This is something important to clarify right away. A goal is going to be more successful long-term if it's something you truly want to do, versus something you feel like you "should" do.

Once it's clear that this really is their goal and it's still important to them, then we start exploring the emotions that are coming up.

A note on perfectionism: It often leads to procrastination. If you have an underlying fear that you can't start until you have everything perfect, or that you won't succeed at your goal because you're not good enough, this can become a very big block.

My advice

Spend some time journaling about what emotions or thoughts come up for you when it’s time for you to work on this goal. The first step is understanding what emotions, beliefs or ideas it brings up for you.

Once you've identified what's coming up for you internally, check in with yourself about whether this goal really feels like your goal (not someone else's) and journal about what's important to you about this goal.

If you were able to accomplish this goal, what would be the impact on you and your life? What would be the impact on those around you?

Self-compassion is very important when you want to get out of procrastination mode (and it's effective!) Some of the emotional patterns that are coming up may be very old for you, dating back to your childhood. Acknowledge the feelings you have and find one small way to move forward. Be mindful of the fact that the change you're asking of yourself might actually be quite big and significant, and be patient with yourself. Small steady steps are really a big win here – and they do add up.

Common Roadblock #4

“I’m starting to lose motivation with my goal(s).”

Common causes:

To achieve a goal we typically need to make changes in both our behavior and in our mindset. These are not easy. We're also going to run into obstacles of all sizes, some predictable and some entirely unexpected.

I find that motivation is often linked to "feeling good." Setting goals feels good. It's exciting, and promising. Making progress on our goals – ticking things off our list, meeting milestones – also feels very good. But there's a no man's land between these "feel good" points, where we need to overcome real difficulties and maintain the determination to keep going even when it doesn't feel particularly good.

A drop in motivation can also signal that your expectations are too high and your goal suddenly seems too far out of reach. A lot of what happens in life is out of our control, so it makes sense that we need to adjust our goals regularly and accordingly.

Here’s my tip:

If you did set your expectations too high, adjust your goal now and your next steps to be more attainable. Attainable goals are more motivating.

Also, start to create a habit of tracking and celebrating your progress. As I mentioned before, making progress feels good and is highly motivating. Tracking and celebrating your progress doesn’t have to be anything fancy. It can be as simple as a piece of paper on your desk where you write down three ways you made progress each day or week. Celebrating can be as simple as saying something encouraging to yourself like “Yeah, nice work!”

If you're really stuck, return back to the idea that what's motivating is what feels good. What is the next small thing you could do toward your goal that would feel good / easy / somewhat enjoyable? Do that.

Progress over Perfection is Always Key 🔑

I hope you find something here that supports you with your goals.

This stuff isn’t easy; if it was, you would have made it happen already!

If you ever feel like you could use deeper, more personalized support on your goals this year, feel free to schedule a short, no-obligation call with me. We can chat about what you’re working on and where you’re getting stuck. This is what I work on weekly with my clients, and it's wonderful to see their progress.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to goals is to always value progress over perfection. Experiment with both the behaviors and the mindset that supports you to keep going – even if it's not as fast as you would have like.

I’m rooting you on. This is a road worth taking.