What happens after we achieve the goal we’ve been chasing down? When the motivation isn’t quite the same? How do we ensure we don’t start to reverse all the good work we’ve put in? Dan Atkinson, head of Technical, Paradigm Norton Financial Planning, considers how to plan for ‘what’s next?’.
Have you ever had something that you’ve striven towards? It might be an event that you’ve been working hard to prepare for, or an achievement that you’ve had to put in a lot of effort to get?
This last year I’ve had a goal to lose weight (about 7-8 Stone or circa 45kg for those of you who think in metric). I put in place a target (with milestones), invested time and money, changed my attitudes and behaviour, and made myself accountable. I’ve worked hard at it. At the time of writing, I’m only 1.5 pounds from my target and all being well I’ll have achieved it by the time you read this.
Having a clear goal and plan to achieve it feels great, doesn’t it? It gives us focus and something to drive our behaviour. But what happens as we get close to the goal and consider ‘life after the goal’?
In my situation my thoughts will be moving into maintain mode and locking in the lifestyle changes that I’ve made. I suspect I’ll find a way to celebrate reaching my goal, but I’ll retain a target, continue to invest effort, and remain accountable. However, the dynamics and drivers feel like they will be very different and perhaps not as potent. What motivated me will change, so I need to consider how to redirect the focused mindset.
Looking to our professional lives I know many people who have worked hard to achieve Chartered and/or Certified status. It’s a great achievement and something I would certainly encourage. These professional designations are a way of demonstrating your knowledge and understanding. I remember celebrating my achievement and subsequently the achievements of peers.
It was interesting to observe what happened next. I know some people who ran to the finish line and then stopped once they got there. They had achieved the badge of honour and were satisfied with that. Others had developed a passion for learning and a desire to continuously improve. They threw themselves into further learning, qualifications, and professional development. Whilst some may have had a plan for ‘what next’ I don’t think it’s common.
Whether your goal is health, lifestyle, professional, or perhaps something more frivolous, I’d encourage you to have a plan to think through ‘what next’ when you get close to achieving it. I think these four questions might be helpful:
- How will you celebrate getting there (and with whom)?
- Do you need continue your effort in a ‘maintain’ mode?
- Is there a natural next step, or new goal, that you wish to pursue?
- How will you reapply your time, effort, and resources?
Having thought these things through you will be well placed to celebrate reaching your goal, and intentionally set a new SMART goal*.
*A SMART goal is one that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Defining goals in this way can help to make them more achievable.
