reader. writer.

It’s data, not judgement. 

Yesterday I took stock on my progress last week. Some goals were on track, and some neglected. If there’s a goal that I didn’t achieve, I prefer to view it as data to consider, rather than a reason to kick myself. 

As I consider the data, things done and left undone, I ask myself a few questions.

What happened? More importantly, did I choose not to pursue the goal or did circumstances intervene?

If circumstances, then what steps could I take to increase the odds of success next time?

If it was a choice, why didn’t I wish to pursue the goal? Is there something about the goal that is stopping me?

In the past, I’ve sometimes realized that I didn’t pursue a goal because I didn’t feel confident I could do it well. If so, I ask myself how I might either gain confidence or live with the flaws.

Sometimes, I realize I am not fully committed to the goal. So then I ask myself, what change could I make to the goal that would make me actually want to do it?

Sometimes, the goal may seem too difficult. So then I have to consider if there is a way I could make the task easier, or perhaps, break the goal into more achievable parts.

Taking time to unpack the data usually helps me get more done, and/or to better understand what I actually want to accomplish.