Ask Janine - I didn't reach my goals this year, how do I get my motivation back?

By Janine Wirth

Dear Janine,

I feel extremely discouraged as at the end of each year I make a list of my accomplishments and compare that to the goals I set myself every January. Sadly, this year was quite bleak and I didn't even do half of what I wanted to. How can I prepare better for next year and get over this feeling of disappointment?

Kind regards,

Despondent.

Dear Despondent,

I have a similar practice where I like to plan my yearly goals and do an evaluation at the end of the year, and like you, due to the unexpected Covid situation, many of those plans didn't happen, and that's OK. 

Remember that we are dealing with a worldwide epidemic, homeschooling, home office, supply shortages, plus caring for family members - which was all unplanned and extremely stressful.

I even stopped using my very fancy planner that my husband gifted me last Christmas and am saving it for next year as I felt it was wasted on this year. An important personality trait of high achievers and successful people is the ability to be flexible and to adjust plans when the unforeseen arises. My suggestion is to write a list of your goals and then divide the list into the following categories:

non-negotiable, nice-to-have and bonus. This allows some room to adjust and stay flexible. Putting more strain and expectation on yourself when so many factors were out of your control isn't helpful or compassionate. You deserve to commend yourself for whatever you did manage as it was definitely a very unusual year.

Putting priorities on your goals also helps you to gauge what is most important to you. Bonus goals are only important if you end up having the time and capacity to do so without compromising your mental or physical well-being.  

Lastly, remember that achieving goals is also supposed to be fun. If you take out the excitement it just becomes work and another action on your to-do list. When choosing your new goals, consider what you're enthusiastic about and what inspires you to become a better version of yourself. 

Most importantly, achieving goals is meant to add value to your life, not deplete and disappoint you.

I hope this helps!

Janine Wirth, is the proud founder of Path to Healing Therapy and Coaching. Her mission is to help female entrepreneurs heal their emotional baggage, heal unresolved emotional trauma and PTSD without spending years in therapy and create spectacular business success for themselves. You may have read her story in The Spotlight and if so you’ll know why she’s so passionate about her work so when she got the opportunity to work alongside The Female CEO and provide a monthly question and answer she was thrilled! 

Do you have a question you would like an answer to? If so then drop Janine a line at [email protected] All questions can be anonymous if preferred, just let her know! You can read all about Janine and her work here or catch up socially on Facebook or LinkedIn