Set Goals and Hold Them Loosely

I’m sure you read the title of this post and said to yourself, “Wait! No! When you set goals, you need to keep them and hold firm!”

To that, I will say, you are correct!

However, there is something to be said about holding on loosely to the goals you set.

I am currently writing my third book. I actually had a goal of completing the first draft to go to an editor by the end of August.

It’s the middle of September, and I am barely through the third chapter.

I can make excuses, but the reality is, but life happened. We had a new baby, we are planting a church, my kids got sick, we went on vacation.

Sometimes, the goals you set won’t work the way you plan. It doesn’t mean you give up, but it means you adjust your plans. 

The goals you set can be adjusted. Don’t feel like they can’t.

Don’t be so tight fisted on your goals that you can’t flex. 

When you are unable to let yourself be flexible, then you will stress yourself out. If you have deadlines that are out of your control, then you need to meet them, just don’t let yourself be defeated by self-imposed deadlines that you have control over.

It’s hard, but it’s necessary.

Allow yourself some freedom. Meet your goals, but be willing to rest when needed.

While my family and I were driving to the beach, we took our time. My wife and I both felt relaxed during the vacation because we didn’t set a schedule.

Our kids needed to use the bathroom, we didn’t get bent out of shape, we went with it. We ate a late lunch and we weren’t concerned since the hotel wasn’t going to lock us out.

We had an idea of what time we wanted to get to our location, but we were flexible with our goal. It made our trip easier and our vacation more fun.

Setting goals is a valuable process, but you need to be willing to accept the fact that life happens, so your goals might have to be reevaluated and adjusted as necessary.

May you feel freedom on your personal goals. May you be willing to hold firm when necessary, but let go of your timeline and trust the process.

Peace and blessings friends.

QUESTION: When have you had to adjust your goals due to setbacks and how did you handle it?