As we near the holidays and end of year, we’re all typically in a time of reflection. One of those may be on what you did or didn’t accomplish this year. 

It can be disheartening to not meet your personal or professional goals, especially if you’ve put a lot of effort into working towards them or you were really looking forward to the outcome.

However, it’s important to remember that setbacks are a normal part of life and that it’s okay to not always meet your goals. Instead of getting discouraged, try to take a step back and reflect on what you can learn from the experience. 

Here are some things you can do if you didn’t hit your goals this year:

1. Reflect on what went wrong: Take some time to think about why you didn’t reach your goals. Was it because you set unrealistic goals? Did you encounter unexpected challenges? Perhaps you gave up when you didn’t reach the first milestone. Understanding what went wrong can help you identify areas for improvement and come up with a plan for moving forward.

2. Adjust your approach: If your goals were too ambitious or you didn’t have a clear plan in place, consider adjusting your approach. This might involve breaking your goals down into smaller, more manageable tasks, or enlisting the help of others to support you. Personally, we find chunking down our goals and “working backwards” to be one of the greatest ways to ensure we achieve what we want. 

3. Celebrate your progress: Even if you didn’t meet your goals, it’s important to recognize and celebrate the progress you did have. Did you make progress in other areas that are related to your goals? Did you learn new skills or gain valuable experience? These achievements are worth celebrating, too. As are the failures and experience you gained along the way; more often than not, we learn more from not getting what we want, than what we do. 

4. Set new goals: If you didn’t reach your goals, it’s okay to set new ones. In fact, setting new goals can be a great way to stay motivated and move forward. We prefer to set intentions, then goals, then KPIs (blog coming in the New Year about this!) Just make sure to set goals that are realistic and achievable, and to create a plan for how you will work towards them.

5. Seek support: If you’re feeling discouraged, don’t be afraid to seek support from friends, family, or a mentor. Talking to someone about your experiences can help you gain perspective and find ways to move forward.

Remember that it’s okay to not always meet your goals.

What’s important is to learn from the experience and keep working towards what you want to achieve.

With a little reflection and a renewed sense of determination, you can overcome setbacks and achieve your goals in the future.