Besides not reaching our goal, which is a devastating consequence in itself, there are five more consequences that you may or may not be aware of that can majorly affect you.
As we read more about each one and its effects, think about which ones you have experienced not only in the past, but the ones you are currently experiencing as well.
Along with the consequences that have and are affecting you, picture how your life might look without them and what it will take to get you there (feel free to comment your thoughts at the bottom of the page)!
The first consequence that we face from not succeeding is that our self-confidence is weakened.
When have you not completed a goal, and because of it, you begin to question yourself and your abilities? Maybe it’s a goal that has to do with changing your lifestyle in regards to health. You’re trying to eat healthier (maybe stay away from sweets) but fall into temptation and indulge in your favorite treat on a hard day.
We are our own worst critics sometimes and when we don’t accomplish something we’ve been hoping will help us improve and become happier, we go right into blaming ourselves and don’t feel “good enough”.
We’re not meant to be perfect and stick to our goals completely when we set them, every time we set them, we need to allow room for us to mess up. But then, we need to continue to encourage ourselves so that we can keep going! Giving up at any point in the goal setting process only makes it worse, and weakens our self-confidence which we absolutely don’t want, right??
The second consequence that we face from not succeeding is that our batteries get drained. We lose satisfaction, care, energy, etc.
I see this in a lot of parents and caregivers. In any situation, when goals are set, we are excited and full of hope! Moms and dads may be planning a better structure for their home to help their kids, they may set goals that focus on themselves which help them to feel more energized and fulfilled in other areas of their life, and so on. But when these goals aren’t reached, that excitement and hope disappears, and our batteries, satisfaction, care, and energy start to feel as though they’re draining from our bodies if not gone already.
The opposite is what we want, right? So why do we give up so easily? We want all of those things back in our life at full capacity! Why give in to continue living with our batteries drained? It’s time to recharge and get what you were after from the beginning!
Third, constant sacrifices and playing “catch-up” are something we have to deal with when we aren’t achieving our goals. How does your work situation look? Do you see yourself making sacrifices to be who others need you to be in the workplace? Do you ever have to play “catch-up” in your other roles because this one takes up too much? If your work situation is good, then great! Are there any other areas in your life where you see these effects?
We don’t want to suffer, yet when one thing in our life is suffering, it tends to bleed out and affect other areas of our life, creating a whole cycle of unhealthiness.
Playing “catch up” can be exhausting and also lead to your battery feeling drained. In what areas of your life are you currently playing this not-so-fun game? Have you set goals in the past that could’ve eliminated this? How could a current goal you have set help you in ending the “catch-up” game?
A fourth consequence that comes from not succeeding in the hopes and dreams we have for ourselves and our lives is that we simply aren’t happy. Yeah, you might be thinking “duh”, but how often do we stop pursuing the things we want and hope for, even though they could make us the happiest person on earth? That might be extreme, but there is a lot of happiness that comes from achieving the things we want and need in life, getting closer to achieving our potential, so why stop ourselves from feeling that??
Finally, have you ever thought about how not completing our objectives for ourselves might have an affect on others? Directly and indirectly.
No matter how many people you might consider “close” to you, there is always someone who cares deeply about you and seeing you succeed. Not only could succeeding make you and them happy, but the lack thereof (referring back to some of these other consequences we’ve already discussed) could really have a negative impact on those we care about and those who care about us.
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You might’ve been aware of all these consequences, or at least some of them, or maybe you weren’t aware of any of them. Whatever way, now we’re all on the same page. Why would we let ourselves continue living with them? The lack of self-confidence, a loss of energy and satisfaction, other areas in our life suffering (not to mention exhausting ourselves with trying to keep on top of it all and still having to make sacrifices), keeping ourselves from feeling more joy and happiness, and allowing others in our life to suffer.
I’m sure we’re not intentionally doing this, right? If we could snap our fingers and make whatever we wanted to happen, happen, I’m sure none of these consequences would exist.
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So back to the question I asked in the beginning: What will it take to get you to a life without these consequences? What are you willing to do to achieve your goals and aspirations? When will you start?
I believe you can do it! Do you believe in yourself?
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