How to Re-evaluate Your Goals: Celebrate, Adjust, and Learn

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Have you taken the time to re-evaluate your goals lately? I make it a point to set new goals at the start of each year—do you? The ritual is a staple for me, whether it’s jotting them down, journaling, or creating vision boards. But often, I forget to circle back, reflect on my progress, and adjust goals that aren’t quite on track or no longer resonate. In this blog, I’ll share my reflections and encourage you to take a moment for your own goal check-in.

Celebrate your Achievements

Let’s start by acknowledging and celebrating the milestones we’ve reached thus far. Take a moment to appreciate the progress you’ve made toward each goal. Reflect on other accomplishments you’ve achieved, even if they weren’t on your original list. For example, perhaps you received an unexpected promotion or hit a new personal record in the gym! Consider all the good things that have happened in your life aside from your goals, and celebrate them. Celebrating your achievements helps you see how far you’ve come, express gratitude for the great things that have happened, and maintain a positive mindset moving forward.

Evaluate your Progress

Now that we have celebrated our wins, it’s time to take a closer look at our goals and assess our progress.

• Determine which goals have been fully achieved, celebrated, and are ready to be crossed off the list.
• What goals are you still working on that are maybe in progress? Maybe you’re still working towards your weight loss goals. How is that going for you? What is working for you so far? Where have you fallen off? Where can you readjust to get back on track? Maybe you set a goal to limit your alcohol consumption this year. You killed dry January, but by the time February rolled around…well, that’s another story. How can you get back on track? 
• Reflect on the reasons behind each outcome, whether you were successful or not. Consider what strategies helped you reach your goals and what hindered you. 

Identify Challenges and Lessons Learned

Sometimes, life happens in unpredictable ways. There are so many things out of our control that we could never have predicted or planned for. That’s just how life goes. While we can’t always control what happens to us, we can control how we react. For example, my original wedding was canceled due to an unexpected hurricane. We rescheduled it for six months later, and I spent those six months worrying about every detail. Would it be what I had planned? Would people still be able to come? Would everyone have a good time? Would it get canceled again?

All of these worries were completely out of my control. In the end, everything worked out probably better than I had expected. Looking back, I’ve realized that you can’t worry about situations that are out of your control. You can’t change what happens to you, but you can choose how you react. Maybe things didn’t go as planned, but maybe that’s also a good thing.

Reflect on the challenges you’ve faced this year, both expected and unexpected. What insight have you gained from them? What lessons have you gained by overcoming your setbacks? Or maybe you’re still going through a challenging time and can’t change what’s happening to you. How can you change your attitude and try to see the positive side of the situation?

Adjust and Realign Your Goals

Now that we have celebrated wins, evaluated progress, and identified challenges, we must adjust and realign.

• What is going well this year?  How can we continue that positive momentum? What goals did you set for yourself that no longer resonate for you, or at least not right now?  Maybe you have set other priorities.  And again, that’s fine! Life is fluid.  
• Consider adjusting or expanding existing goals based on new insights and aspirations that have emerged since the beginning of the year. Maybe you’ve realized you love lifting heavy weights in the gym this year! Maybe your new goal is to spend the next few months perfecting a specific lift or reaching a new personal record!
• Be open to adjusting timelines or expectations to ensure they remain realistic and attainable (remember our S.M.A.R.T goals from the beginning of the year??) If you don’t, be sure to check out this post next: How to Stay Consistent and Reach Your Fitness Goals
• Write down your revised goals and explain the rationale behind the changes.  This part is important!  Why? Because it helps you determine if you’re making changes that best suit you and the person you are trying to become.  Or if you are simply making excuses and standing in your own way!

Set Actionable Steps

Ok, this goes back to the habit setting.  Now that we have realigned our goals, we need to set actionable steps to achieve them.  You want to get back on track with your workouts. Ok but how? Maybe you come up with a new bedtime routine to prioritize better sleep, maybe you find a class that you enjoy that holds you accountable, or maybe you lay out your clothes or pack a gym bag to take with you to work. Actionable steps! List them out!

Find Motivation and Accountability

Maintaining motivation and accountability throughout the year is crucial. 

Consider sharing your goals with a close friend or partner. While it can be challenging to open up, you never know how your goals might inspire someone else.

Find friends or groups with similar interests. For example, you could join a running group or a fitness class. I love using ClassPass, which allows you to buy credits for fitness studios in your area and try different classes!

Look for motivation and inspiration on social media. Follow accounts that promote the ideas and mindsets you want to adopt. For instance, if you’re trying to cut back on drinking, you can find many cool accounts that share fun mocktail recipes. I’ve enjoyed making non-alcoholic drinks that benefit my health!

You Got This!!!

Remember, it’s never too late to embark on a new path or adjust. So, let’s make the most of the remaining months, stay resilient, and continue working towards our dreams. Here’s to an exciting and fulfilling second half of the year!