We’re six weeks into the new year. Consider this your 2021 accountability check-in on your goals and resolutions. So, how are you doing on your goals?

If you’ve seen the story about the percentage of folks who give up on their resolutions by [enter some date in January], then you already know that you’re not alone. But this doesn’t mean that your dreams for setting goals for the year need to completely die. One of the integral steps of goal-setting is ADJUSTING your goals when something is not working.

The familiar acronym for goal-setting is SMART (or SMARTER). Depending on the resource you’re using, you may have seen the “A” stand for Achievable, Attainable, Actionable, Assignable, or Adjustable. I know, this layer of confusion can make setting SMART goals… well, a little DUMB (Directionless, Unimportant, Messy, and Boundary-less-ness… Bear with me, I’m working out the details.)

In my coaching, I stick with ADJUSTABLE. Thereby, your goal should be Specific, Measurable, Adjustable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. But Mel, WHAT DOES ADJUSTABLE MEAN?! Maybe it’s changing your deadline. Maybe adjusting the frequency at which you’re actively working towards your goal. Maybe you realize that perhaps Mondays are NOT the best day of the week to be productive and you will reclaim and redirect your energy to Wednesday. (Wednesday knows what’s up.)

To be successful at your goals, you need to be smart (see what I did there?) about reflecting and reassessing: How are you measuring progress? And, if you’re not making progress, where do you need to adjust and reset? Keeping a goal adjustable allows you to continually experience progress.

Here are a few action steps for you to consider:

• What are your current obstacles? WRITE THOSE DOWN.
• How will these obstacles change in the next few weeks, few months, over the course of the year, etc.?
• What level of control do you have in changing or removing these obstacles?
• What are some ways in which you can reduce the challenges or obstacles?
• What teeny, tiny implementable habits could you use to pew-pew (*finger guns*) some of those obstacles?
• And, maybe most importantly: Is the goal still meaningful to you?

Look, you’re not alone in needing to adjust your goals. 2021 is seemingly bringing along a lot of baggage from 2020. Be kind to yourself, and see where you can make some adjustments – while still making some headway on (the other “A”) what you want to achieve this year.

And don’t forget to celebrate your successes!

If the issue with your goal-setting progress is that you’re struggling to get started. Stay tuned for a post on starting new habits (where I might even dispel some of the myths of motivation).