- Mindful goal-setting transforms resolutions into realistic, sustainable actions by focusing on the process rather than solely the outcome.
- Breaking down big goals and allowing for flexibility helps maintain motivation and reduces the stress of striving for perfection.
- Adaptability and self-reflection are key to meaningful progress, ensuring that goals align with evolving priorities and life circumstances.
The end of the year is a great time to check-in with ourselves and take note of where we are, how far we have come, and which goals we realized over the past 12 months. This reflection exercise is often followed by setting goals and intentions for the year ahead.
Unfortunately, research shows that we are just as quick to abandon new goals as we are to set them.
According to Drive Research, 92% of adults will not follow through on a resolution.
Pew Research Center has found that 13% of people who have made at least one resolution have not kept them, with 28% of them keeping only some of them. Additionally, Fisher College of Business notes that by the end of the first week, 23% of people have already quit their resolutions, with a further 43% quitting by the end of January.
These statistics make it clear that we need a different approach to goal-setting if we want to see them through without stressing and burning ourselves out.
3 Strategies for Mindful Goal-setting and Letting Go of Stress
1.Focus on the journey, not the destination
Traditionally when we set goals we have a specific result and idea in mind. While having a clear result in mind can provide direction, it can also overshadow the process of getting there.
To counter this, it’s important to redefine and change the way we set goals.
Instead of focusing only on “I want to be [insert your goal here] by [insert your deadline here],” try adding more context and actionable steps: “I want to be [insert your goal here] by [insert your deadline here]. To achieve this, I need to [step 1], [step 2], [step 3], and [so on and so on].”
This could apply to something as big as earning a promotion: I want to be promoted by the end of the year. To achieve this, I need to prioritize high-impact projects, keep track of my contributions, gather any positive feedback, and prepare to meet with my boss.
Or as small as adding my movement to your work day: I want to sit stationary for no longer than 30 minutes at a time. To achieve this, I need to invest in a standing desk and perhaps an under-desk treadmill, use a timer to remind myself to switch positions and schedule time mid-day to take a walk.
Just the exercise of thinking about what that journey will look like can help give us a better idea of whether our goals are realistic and if we have a clear grasp about the work and effort we really need to put into them.
Outlining them in this way also plays a key role in minimizing stress and anxiety, especially in the early stages, when achieving something can still feel somewhat unattainable or too abstract.
2.Break up goals into mini-goals
Along the same line of adding more context into goals, breaking up goals into mini-goals can help ensure that we stay motivated throughout the process of achieving them.
This is especially true for large goals that require a lot of effort and those that will take a longer time to complete.
Breaking each big goal into small, consistent actions fulfills a few purposes:
- Motivation: when we celebrate small wins, we can see the progress we are making on a daily or weekly basis, keeping us engaged and inspiring us to keep going.
- Stay on track: we are less likely to procrastinate or give up if we have already reached specific milestones along the way. This keeps us on track and focused.
- Less stress: smaller goals feel less daunting and intimidating than large ones. By making the progress more manageable and bite-sized, we feel as though we have a greater sense of control, which in turn reduces anxiety and stress.
3.Set your goals on paper, not on stone
Success rarely looks exactly like what we envisioned or imagined. Being mindful about the goals we set requires that we also recognize that our ambitions and purpose can change and evolve along the way.
Life changes, time changes, and our priorities can change based on many factors or circumstances outside of our control. This is why we should set our goals on paper, where we can go back, revisit, and adapt if needed.
Sometimes the change might be simple or a matter of adjusting timelines. Other times, it might be changing the goal entirely.
Being aware and mindful of this is key in making sure that we are not holding on to something that no longer serves us, something that can cause significant stress and anxiety, especially if the place where we are can no longer support what we set out to do months in advance.
While simple, these three strategies can be powerful in setting yourself up for success. You can set realistic goals without feeling overwhelmed by asking the right questions, being attuned to the effort each goal will require, and knowing how to break up each one of them into manageable steps.
This makes it much more likely that we see our goals through and that we don’t become one of the 43% that quits before we can even get started.
