Oops, I Forgot to Re-set my Goals!

Photo credit  by Earthwatcher; creative commons license

I’m stunned that I forgot to set goals.  That’s so unlike me.  Goals are the guideposts to the future and without them, I tend to amble off the path.

One of the benefits of monthly sessions with a  life coach is that they keep me on-track in my busy life and help me to fine-tune new things I want.  It’s therapy, in a way, and it’s a nice objective sounding board for me—one that doesn’t judge  in the way a close friend or colleague with an agenda might.  My coach simply helps me to talk through worries and come up with a game plan.

In this month’s session, my coach asked about a certain project.  I had mentioned to her how well it was going, and her resulting question was, “So what goals have you set for this project?”

Huh?  The question really caught me off-guard, and it shouldn’t have.  I stuttered a bit and had to admit that I’m not sure of my goals for this project.

I had goals for it, over a year ago when I first started it.

.  They were very specific goals, and the project has met those expectations and more.  Way more.  But I realized when she asked the question that it’s not meeting my goals so much now.  I don’t really know anymore where this project is going.

Somewhere along the way, my original goals were met and I began looking for something more, even though I hadn’t set goals or intentions for something more.  I’ve been wondering what more might come of this project and wanting more from it, but what exactly I want now, I can’t say.

See, I met the goals for that project but since the project is on-going and pleasurably so, I never re-set those goals.   And I have no idea where the project’s going.  It’s just sorta fun and undefined right now.  What I needed it for originally is based on my emotional needs over a year ago and not on my emotional needs now.

That’s my assignment for the next few days:  figure out exactly what I want out of this project now.  I certainly honor that it met my intentions joyfully and has been a sweet addition to my life,  but what exactly are the needs I want it to fulfill now?  Once I figure that out, I can set new goals for it.  I can put my intentions out there…and I can take a path to new heights.

Reaching a goal is not always the end result.  Sometimes, for anything ongoing, you need to revisit your original intentions and see what needs to be update in the goal department.

What projects, relationships, or dreams do you have that have met your goals and need a new and improved set of goals?