Ramsey Solutions: Setting Short-term Goals in Unpredictable Seasons

We’re halfway through 2020, and I’m willing to bet by now those goals you set in January have gone out the window. This year has brought a lot of chaos and unexpected hurdles we could have never planned for.

Life always does that, doesn’t it?

A few years ago, I was training to run a marathon. Just a few weeks before the race, I flew to an event and had some luggage fall right on my head. As you can probably guess, I walked away with a pretty bad concussion.

It sounds obvious that with a concussion I wouldn’t be able to run the race. But it wasn’t obvious to me. I was holding on tight to the goal I had set. Even though I was dealing with the effects of a concussion, I was still trying to train. I was still pushing hard to run that race—even though it wasn’t good for my health.

We do that, don’t we? We hold ourselves to the fire and to those goals we set. We put pressure on ourselves to fulfill them even when everything has changed.

That’s why it’s important to adjust your goals to the season you’re in. When life throws us curve balls, we must learn to adapt. And we do that by reflecting on what’s working—and what’s not—in light of the season we’re in.

So, here are three tips to help you set short-term goals:

Consider the season you’re in

Set goals that go with the flow, not against it.

Create strong goals

Be specific. Make them measurable, and set a time frame. For example: I will lose 20 pounds by August 30. Or, I will save $2,000 for Disney World by April 1.

Write them down on paper

Writing down your goals can be the difference between making your dream a reality and staying stuck in a place you hate.

Some seasons are predictable, but others aren’t. The good news is short-term goals give you the freedom to adjust when unpredictable seasons come!

Written by Christy Wright