Not all of my recent goals have been a success. There were several that I didn’t meet but I don’t think that makes my year less successful. Most of my year went pretty well, actually. I learned a lot and made progress on many goals. There are four main reasons why I think you shouldn’t worry if you didn’t meet all of your goals, either.

Progress not Perfection

I didn’t reach the end goal on the number of books I wanted to read.  I started out strong but then stalled out as things got busy in the fall. But guess what? I still read lots of useful books and gained a lot of knowledge from them to apply to my life and business. So I’m not getting stuck on the number I set for myself and instead I’m going to work on applying what I learned from the books I did read.

Another example is my scripture memorization goals. I didn’t reach the number I planned at the beginning of the year, but I still memorized several verses. Had I not set the goal in the first place, I wouldn’t have memorized any, so the progress that I did make is important because I still committed many scripture verses to memory.

Keep Track of Priorities

One of my goals was to spend a few hours each week practicing piano to retain my skills and continue to teach piano lessons. However, I had to re-evaluate because it was just too busy and I felt that it wasn’t a priority in this season. I LOVE playing and teaching piano, but after careful prayer and evaluation I was confident that it just wasn’t something I need to focus on right now. I still want to practice so I don’t lose this skill, but it doesn’t need to take up near as much time in my schedule as it used to.

Learn From Mistakes and Make a Plan to Improve

I think it’s important to look back over the year and see what worked and what did not and how to change it. For example, I have a love/hate relationship with working out. When I actually use the self-discipline to do it, I feel great – healthier and more energized. But there are few workouts I enjoy. And finding the energy to do them wasn’t high enough on my priorities list.

Exercising more was a goal that didn’t quite work and it’s something I do want to change. I need to find where it fits into my schedule and stick with it.

Ambition with Grace – find that balance

Unsuccessful goals don’t equal an unsuccessful year. Every bit of progress counts. Priorities change and adjustments need to be made. Learn from mistakes and make a plan to improve for next year. And most importantly, give yourself grace. I don’t mean make excuses – but take an honest look and figure out what happened. Did priorities change and therefore your focus needed to as well? Or did you just lack the motivation to get it done and need a different plan to accomplish your goal?

Even though I didn’t reach all of my goals, I’m going to be just as ambitious with my goals going forward. Because if I can make good progress, keep track of my priorities, learn from my mistakes, and give myself grace then my new year’s goals are bound to be a success.