"How many of your goals set in each year do you accomplish?"
"What excuses have you given yourself for NOT achieving those ticks?"
"What am you going to do with the remaining timeline for your goals?"
"Is your time for the rest of the year, going to be well spent?"
Of course, only you and yourself would know which are the goals you have really made a conscious effort to achieve, and even if you missed it, no one else can judge, but yourself.
(Hooray and pop that champagne! Great efforts Mates!)
However, on the other spectrum, there are also who have come up excuse of all sorts to keep hold and at bay the tedious tasks of running after their goals.
(Come'on!! You know who you're! Quit that sheepish smile already!)
I'm no saint, and I admit, there are some things which I've managed to achieve so far, and also those which I chased after halfheartedly and yes... made excuses for too!
I believe it will be unfair to generalize excuse-makers as weak...lazy...etc etc..
We all indulge in excuses once in awhile (Judgement of Valid vs Invalid save for oneself) don't we?
There are typically two scenarios where I classify as a "lack of" mental toughness.
1) Times we felt the fire in our guts and started immediately on the tasks, and finished ahead of schedule.
2) Times we procrastinated and wasted precious time before starting anything; afterwards, that's where all the excuses start popping out like little sparks on why things weren't completed.
The first scenario is pretty straightforward, you put in the effort, you accomplished the goal or missed it by a certain mark. Fair enough. Case closed.
In the second scenario though, I would describe as a lack of mental toughness to push oneself on the first step. However, mental toughness or will power, or any terms which is used to coin the tenacity of one's mental capacity to push oneself through tasks; is usually not within our own control.
Good news is though, we can take steps to ensure a higher percentage of success rates
What are your priorities and top goals?
We all have to define and rank the priorities that is going take up the very limited 365 days we have each year. Conflicts are bound to happen; ranking our goals ensures and minimizes the occurrences of such conflicts and gives us a constant check-in on what's important.
Consider this:
Your wife is 8 months pregnant, delivering soon; and you're in the midst of taking your MBA, where research work on that report is going to be tedious as hell; while at the same time, your boss is going task you to travel 1008 miles across the globe to supervise some project going on.
So... How do you prioritize your objectives?
Building that family and relationship?
Graduating with that MBA you've always dreamed about?
Complete that work task or project and secure a promotion which equates to better finances for: the baby, the family and the bills etc?
Which ranks higher?
Setting priorities greatly reduces the need for excuses later on as it simplifies with clarity what is what with conflicting values.
Define where you want to focus your energies into: Major or Minor objectives
Consider the following scenario:
You're in a Armed Forces mission team, your main objective is to take a out a enemy base while other objectives are to collect any plausible Intel on remaining remnants of enemy combatants.
Get the picture?
In All: prioritize your goals into such that, the minor objectives become a "by the way" thing without forsaking them at all while, while devoting time and energy to the bigger picture
Prioritizing your objectives into a major focus and several minor focuses makes it harder for excuses. I simply think of my priorities whenever a conflict occurs; before I can think of any excuse.
When one's priorities are clear, it is that much difficult to justify making excuses for them.