In the past, I’ve struggled to follow through on smaller goals, especially over time. I didn’t really learn to play the guitar. I’m not fluent in Spanish. For the big goals, I’m more likely to put in the time to develop a thorough plan, map it out and also to reach my goal. But, for me, it’s the little ones that slip away. Maybe you have struggled to achieve some smaller goals too.

Recently, I managed to complete, albeit not on schedule, reading the Bible. My goal was to do so in one year. I began the journey to read through the entire Bible, all 66 books, approximately 18 months before I crossed the finish line.

I knew it would be a challenge. However, I didn’t stay on track, on schedule, or consistent. Some would consider the effort a failure. Yet I still consider this an achievement. Just to be clear, I’m convinced some divine intervention was required.

Reflecting on that journey, I distilled 4 lessons learned that can help me, and hopefully you too, to achieve other small goals in life, if we put them into action.

1. Keep Your Why In Focus

I’ve heard Michael Hyatt say, “When you lose your why, you lose your way.” I’m not sure it’s original to him, but it has stuck with me. During this recent journey to read the Bible, I continued to revisit my why. For me, this meant recalling that I wanted to grow in my faith, develop the discipline of daily reading and become better equipped to lead others in their walks with Christ.

When we lose focus on why we set a goal or began a journey, it becomes hard to follow through. Motivation evaporates and commitment wanes. What’s your why? I’d suggest you write it down and revisit it often.

2.  Aim For Progress Not Perfection

In most goals, specifically when aiming for a regular practice or habit, aim for progress. Admittedly, I’m a recovering perfectionist and when I set out to read the Bible in a year, that was exactly my intent. When I started to slip it would have been easy to throw in the towel in defeat.

When I fell behind my plan, I had to remind myself to be flexible and continue to make progress. Most goals that I help people with are not all or nothing goals. So, as long as you’re making progress, you’re on your way to victory.

3. Be Held Accountable

Luckily I wasn’t out on my own little island. My wife knew whether I was getting up every morning or not, which is when I did my reading. Having someone to help hold me accountable was huge. While this can take many forms, just having someone else aware of your goal can make a difference in your follow through.

Either explicitly or implicitly, get someone on your team…someone to hold you accountable. Even an online community through services like irunurun (link) or lift (link) could do the job.

4. Extend Some Grace

“I don’t get bonus points for finishing on time.” I repeated this to myself to fight my disappointment and perfectionistic tendencies. As we know, we’re our own worst critics. But, the reality is, life happens, things come up, we don’t control everything.

So, expect the unexpected and try not to beat yourself up over slipping timelines or breaks in the action. Anticipate and build contingencies around foreseeable obstacles (e.g. time management). Allow yourself some flexibility and try not to beat yourself up when you get off track.

As you strive to achieve even the small goals in your life, there will be challenges and things won’t always go according to plan. What’s holding you back? What are your challenges? Hopefully, you and I can learn from these 4 lessons and achieve meaningful goals as we pursue our full potentials.

Question: Which of these 4 lessons is the hardest for you to follow? I’d love to discuss with you in the comments section below.