Most people I work with have some kind of goal, vision or ideal they are working towards. When this goal, vision or ideal was created, it was inspiring, motivating, something worth pursuing. Over time however, the person’s attention is not drawn to what inspires them, instead they think about all that remains to be done and how far they are away from reaching our goal. Even worse, goals have a tendency to get bigger, grander and seem to edge even further away from us over time. This can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, dissatisfaction, frustration, impatience when we look forward and see everything that still needs to be done. And it seems, we are never really satisfied with where we are.

What is missed when we look forward is; noticing all the good that happened, all the progress made, and the lessons learned and all the personal learning that has occurred in our lives.

Instead of measuring where we are now against the ideal image of our goal and feeling frustrated, stressed or tired, we can measure where we are now against where we started and note how it feels when we notice progress, the lessons learned and our own self-development.

It is about checking back in to get inspired as well as finding great value in building habits that balance the forward focus by taking note of the progress made.

For example, every Friday I have conversations with the participants in the True Effectiveness program. I always start the conversation with: What progress have you made this week? What new knowledge have you developed this week? How have you developed your capacity this week? What are the results you are most satisfied with?

Take time every week to reflect on one or all of the questions above and take a moment to see what has moved and shifted for you! And see the difference that answering these questions makes in your life and around your goals.