Two times in the last four years I’ve had a pit in my stomach after watching my New England Patriots hand the New “York” Giants a Super Bowl victory. It’s the ultimate sports fail. The biggest game. The biggest stage. The most pressure. Facing all the Giants (and even Jets) fans in the office today is not going to be fun.
So how do you bounce back from such a failure? The secret is found found, in a very simplistic sense, in noted philosophers Chumbawumba’s 1997 dissertation on recovering from failure.
It’s really simple. It’s a combination of sticking with your plan and rule three in my “how to hit your target” post, calling for monthly reassessment and moving forward with a new and improved plan. Also, it usually takes 3 to 4 months for any plan to take shape, so make sure you don’t beat up on yourself. Briefly look back at what went wrong and then fix whatever you can for month two. Wash, rinse, repeat for months 3, 4, 5, etc.
When I swing and miss, even in month one, I go in a bit of detail to figure out what went wrong before writing out the next month’s plan. Also, if you didn’t write out your plan (the “how” you were going to hit your target in month one) it’s time to write it out for month two.
It’s the only way that’s worked for me. The key is to do all of this with brutal honesty so you can figure out what went wrong.
If your plan was just unrealistic, that’s OK, too. I have a habit of making aggressive (some may say unrealistic) goals. If I’m falling short on one I don’t feel too bad as long as I’m moving aggressively in the right direction. If you look back at January and you did everything you could think of and still fall short, maybe you just aim for $1,000 per month for the remaining $17,000.
But if you look back at January and can identify one, two or more leaks that cost you $500 then look forward to February with a new, aggressive plan. Item one is to plug those leaks. This is important. Plugging those specific leaks is what makes the plan new and improved, and what will make it work better.
But now you have $500 to make up, right? Right. But not in February. The natural tendency is to make it up right away. Bad idea. If you missed in January, trying to up the ante the next month is not a good idea. It’s like someone who drops 200 lbs of weight on their chest trying to bench press asking their spotter to put another 50 lbs on for their next attempt. Doesn’t make any sense, right? So maybe you just stick with the $1,000 you were able to do in January. You can make up that $500 in March, April and/or May. (I like to aim to make up the month one pitfall by the midpoint of the plan.)
Bottom line:
It stinks to fail. But we all do it. That’s one reason why we break goals into small chunks. If your plan is for one month that’s all you screwed up. You didn’t screw up your whole plan. You were always expecting to do a new plan for month two. You got knocked down, but now get up again.
This is exactly what I’m doing with my 2012 goals. And in once sentence, I reassessed and developed a new plan for February to get me back on track. ”If I’m going to hit 130 that means I have to exercise 12 times per month on average from here on out.” So February I’m targeting 12 trips to the gym. I’ll let you know how it goes.
How are your 2012 goals going? Any failures? What’s the new plan?
Until next time, put your credit card down and slowly step away from the mall!
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That type of mindset is what separates the successful people from the "Nothing ever works out for me" crowd. Failure is nothing to be ashamed of, rather it is an opportunity to improve yourself. Keep plugging away and you will be shocked at the changes you can make in 12 months. Give up and you will most likely (99.9% chance) be in exactly the same situation next year that you are now.
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Dealing with failure can be tough for some people. Others may be able to bounce right back, but you have to consider your own sources of motivation. If you get added motivation by reaching goals, you may need to adjust goals so that some are realistic. Those people just need to figure out where to base their goals so that they are both aggressive and still attainable. Or like you mentioned, break the goals into smaller chunks so you can have some satisfaction.
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Don't let a bad day become a bad week. Don't let a bad week become a bad month. And don't let a bad month become a bad year. Oh, and don't let perfect be the enemy of good or even good enough.
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@Money Infant – Isn't it amazing how much of a difference attitude and perspective can play?!?! Even in the toughest times I've seen people lose jobs and score better ones as others in the same industry and with the same qualifications sat around sulking. I'm with you on mindet!
@Modest Money – Great stuff. Breaking out the goals definitely works better for me, especially when I go big. The small chunks help act as my broad-brush "plan" to achieve my monster goals…
@Well Heeled Blog – Couldn't have said it better myself… Actually, I think you summed up my whole post in two lines! I bow to your superior writing! You're probably pretty good on Twitter
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