By: Maggie Green, The Dot Ambassador
And just like that…we passed the halfway mark on 2023. If you’re like me, you probably rang in the New Year with some lofty goals (which seemed even better when discussed with friends over a glass of champagne), a wave goodbye to the dead weight you planned on leaving behind in 2022, and a full dose of optimism for what the new year would bring. Maybe (also like me), you blissfully ignore those naysayers who love to remind you that more than half of all New Year’s resolutions fail. Now, six months in, maybe you are feeling discouraged or underwhelmed by your progress.

I belong to the camp of ambitious goal setters. Sometimes that naturally results in disappointment, but it also gives me a lot of room for self-reflection and an objective approach to analyzing my “growth” moments (especially the ones that don’t feel too good). Over the years, I have gotten better at reflecting on my missed or abandoned goals with kindness; life is unpredictable and just like a scientist disproving her hypothesis, missing a goal might not be the outcome you want, but it might be the outcome you get. And some goals just suck from the beginning. No personal failure involved whatsoever. There I said it.

Regardless of your progress so far in 2023, there is no better time than now to revisit your New Year’s resolutions and recalibrate these goals to align with the “you” that you want to be tomorrow and beyond. Here’s how to keep the good, ditch the bad, and make your goals work for you.

What were those goals even, anyway?

Pull out your Notes App, open the journal on your nightstand, or scroll back to that 1:00 a.m. NYE text to your bestie and identify what goals you set for yourself at the end of 2022. It’s helpful to sit and reflect on these goals for a few minutes.

A Few Questions to Consider

• What was your mindset when you set that goal?
• What has changed since you set it?
• How have you changed since you set it?
• What was your timeline for that goal and how did you anticipate tracking your progress?

Evaluate Your Progress

For the goals that remain, it’s time to give yourself a full serving of cold, hard feedback. Set a timer for three minutes per goal and make a list identifying the ways you progressed towards your goals and the ways you moved away from them.

A Note on SMART Goals & Vague Goals

I’ll be the first to admit that I am mixed on SMART goals (i.e., goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). I love them in theory (especially for projects and career goals), but in my personal life, I often find them limiting. That said, vague goals are impossible to work with and make achievement nearly impossible. Sometimes you really need the porridge to be just right and SMART goals can help you get there.

If you are an over-achiever who created SMART goals for your New Year’s resolutions, do a broad evaluation and don’t be too rigid in your self-feedback—sometimes progress doesn’t always align with your SMART metrics and you should use this self-reflection to look at your goals in a new light.

If your goals feel vague or untethered, try to anchor them as you evaluate your progress. Examine your intent when you created that goal and jot down some metrics or sub-goals that you could use to assess your progress more concretely.

Purpose Over Progress

Some goals appear easy to abandon. Maybe you didn’t get the promotion you set your sights on, but you’ve fallen in love with a new project at work. Instead of simply striking the promotion goal from your list, look deeper into your purpose behind that goal. If the reason you wanted that promotion was really a desire for a professional challenge and your new project is providing that, this goal lives on!

Refresh and Recalibrate

This is my favorite part of goal setting. New Year’s resolutions are kind of like shitty first drafts; you got your idea down on paper and now it’s time for a beautiful second draft with a self-imposed fresh start.

When I refresh my goals, I like to think about why I’m even setting a goal in the first place. It sounds basic, but it’s really instructive.

For example, it’s easy to fall into the trap of setting quantifiable metrics for things like fitness and health, such as goals revolving around numbers on a scale, trips to the gym per week, or clothing sizes. These things aren’t necessarily bad, but are they really the goals you want to manifest? Instead of simply counting trips to the gym, what about trying a new fitness class each week to determine what kind of movement makes you happy? Or cooking your way through a new cookbook to incorporate a clean eating into your routine? Goals don’t have to be daunting to be effective and it’s important to make sure your goals are representative of journeys that you take this year.

A Few Questions to Consider

• When you close your eyes and envision that goal as an outcome, what other factors contributed to making that outcome desirable? Are those factors actually separate goals, themselves, or key steps in the process of achieve your goal? If so, add them to your list!
• In what ways does this goal serve you, today? In what ways does this goal serve you in the future?
• What areas of your life does this goal impact? What are my values that this goal supports?
• What obstacles or shortfalls did I face since creating this goal originally?
• How can I prevent those obstacles this time?

Re-Write Your Goals

Don’t fall into the same too-rigid or too-vague pitfalls from NYE—your second draft goals deserve better! Use the SMART goal model to make sure you are setting yourself up for success this time around.

Closing Tips on Achieving Your Refreshed Goals

Now that you have refreshed your goals, it’s time to knock them out of the park Here are a few tips to staying on track and achieving your new goals.

• Tell your friends! Having an accountability buddy is crucial to any goal. If you are comfortable, ask them for feedback and support. Maybe they are looking for the same from you.
• Don’t wait to refresh a goal that isn’t working. Take time to check in on your progress regularly and identify challenges you are facing. Make a plan to overcome any obstacles, or revise your goal accordingly. Your time is too valuable for bad goals!
• Celebrate your progress. Because you re-wrote your goals to include timelines and metrics, you can now celebrate every single step you take towards your goal (and you should!).
• Don’t give up. Goals are for the long run and one week without progress doesn’t mean you can’t pick it back up again tomorrow. Give yourself some grace and remember that your progress and goals don’t define you.

Cheers to an even brighter second-half of 2023!