What to do when you are not meeting your career goals

Sometimes, we get caught up in life. Sometimes, we pause or totally stop working toward any of goals. Then, the cycle of having good intentions without great execution starts all over again. If you fail to set and monitor your goals, you run the risk of building a foundation for a career you don’t want. Even worse, you risk not fully leveraging your time.

Here are a few tips on how to work those career goals to success.

1. Embrace Self-Awareness

To achieve success, you first have to define it. Take a minute to reflect on your personal and professional aspirations before diving into goal setting. Thoughtfully consider your options and then make a conscious decision to pursue a specific avenue. Only after serious introspection can you truly deconstruct what it takes to make your dreams come to fruition.

2. Think Big Picture

To propel your career forward, you need to identify big life goals that you can strive for over time. Your workplace goals should align with your professional dreams. Stick to big-ticket concepts only: desired company, highest position you want to achieve, and a description of the impact you would like to make. Ask yourself from time to time; where do I want to land and what do I hope to contribute?

3. Outline Actionable Steps

Goals must be worked to be effective. It’s time to zoom in and break down your goals into actionable steps that you can implement. For instance, it’s nice to say you want to run your own company but what deliberate, small strides are you going to take to do that? Take the broader concept of your goals and distill it into more specific objectives and even more granular tasks. Each day, outline what tasks you need to accomplish to help you achieve your objectives and eventually your goals. Your list of tasks should be realistic enough that you can take care of small, urgent matters that may come up.

4. Monitor Your Progress

Goal setting does not work if you only make a list. You have to check in with yourself often. Just like you check in with your boss on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis, you need to do the same thing for yourself and your career. This means you have to review your objectives and your goals frequently. Review your objectives daily and your goals monthly to make sure you stay connected to your important big-picture aims.