Measure Your Progress - Meet Your Goals (Part 3 of 4)
Imagine an athlete training for the Olympics without a stop watch. How would she know if she’s improving and by how much? Instead, she records every run, swim or performance for time and technique.
It’s important to keep score or measure progress toward your goal.
Chart your progress
You can choose simply to put an “X” on the calendar, jot notes in a small pocket-sized notebook or develop your own chart. And of course as you might imagine, there’s an app for this too. Countless (free!) smart phone apps enable you to track as much detail as you like. Just find an approach that works easily for you and stick with it.
After a few months, your tiny steps will add up to a lot of progress and huge strides toward your goal.
Be accountable
Commit yourself to the goal beyond making a deal with yourself. So many people try to change in secret, but those who publicly announce their goal are most successful.
Tell supportive family or friends about your goal and tell them to expect updates from you. Join an online forum where you need to check-in, announce it to your social media friends, or if you’re really feeling ambitious, start a blog to report on your progress.
Overcome the urge to quit
No journey is perfect. You will have setbacks, but it’s how you respond to those setbacks that matter most. Learn from them. Let them motivate you to move forward. Your charted progress will be a physical reminder of how much you can accomplish over time. If you get the urge to quit, look at your charted progress. (It’s also a good time to revisit your vision board for inspiration.)
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.” - Henry Ford
This is part 3 of a 4-part series. Read part 1 - Achieve Your Olympic Dream and part 2 - Pave Your Road to Gold.