How to Stay Committed to Your Professional Goals

Congratulations! You and your executive coach have successfully completed goal-setting and started the path to organize and achieve your goals. A few weeks and months into the process, you may find yourself struggling with your goal commitment and follow through on some actions. This is not uncommon and is a great reason for working with an executive coach as they can help you overcome any barriers. While it may seem tempting to throw in the towel, there are some ways for you to remain excited and committed to your goals until completion and working with your coach can keep you accountable along the way.

Be flexible

It’s important for your success to give yourself the ability to tweak your goals. Even if you have crystal clear goals in mind, there are several circumstances that can impact the course and progress of your goal. Changes in your personal and family life, a new boss, natural disasters and so on, can impact the timeline and path of your goal.

Trying to stick to goals as if they are set in stone when the world around us is constantly changing can be extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible. By giving yourself the flexibility from the beginning to adjust your goals when necessary, prefaces the mind to see changes as less of a disappointment if the time comes. You and your coach should schedule time to revisit your goals frequently. Make sure to be open and discuss your progress with your coach and adjust your goals as needed to stay on track.

Accountability

After completing the goal-setting process and drafting a course of action, many people stop making progress toward their goal. This is where working with a coach can be key to your success. From the beginning, write down your short, mid and long-term goals for the year (or longer). Writing down your goals lets your mind know your goals are ready for action. Your coach may suggest to post your written goals where you can see them in order to keep you focused, and again, share your goals with others. If you run into roadblocks, make sure to talk about your successes and challenges with your coach to work through these blocks. This process of checks and balances makes it more difficult to quit and builds accountability. Individuals who hire a personal trainer, an executive coach, or even simply make an agreement with a loved one are more likely to achieve their goals because they have someone else who knows about the goal, and is holding them accountable.

Habits and patterns

Take a moment and look inward and reflect on habits and patterns in your life. What habits are working for you and helping you reach your goals? What habits may be holding you back from your goal progress?

By taking an honest review of your habits and patterns, the good and the bad, you can begin to make the necessary changes to achieve your goals. Make sure you are 100% honest about your habits and patterns with your coach. Withholding information can not only create a block between you and your coach, but it can hinder your success. Work on improving your positive habits and work to weed out the bad ones. You’ll become more efficient  and increase productivity while getting closer to achieving your goals!

Reward progress

Being great at anything takes passion. To be fulfilled, you need to have passions inside and outside the workplace. Think about what really makes you happy? Music? Running? Writing? Fundraising? Whatever it is, make time for it.

Celebrating small successes may seem like a luxury you can’t afford, or makes you feel guilty by taking time to focus on something other than work. However, making time for leisurely activities you find exciting can actually help you on the  path of achieving your goals. When you spend time doing an activity that makes you happy, it acts like a mental refresh, which helps you to approach your work with recharged Energy.

Whatever your professional and personal goals may be, these suggestions and working with a coach can help you on your path to achieve them. Building a focus on self enhancement, work life balance and renewed motivation, you’ll advance on your goal progress with a consistent renewed energy.

By Jamie Fuentes