Hello September!
If you’ve fallen behind on a goal you’d hoped to achieve, you still have agency in your story. There are still four months left in the year. Channel the creative energy of autumn and reset your goals. Finish the year strong with four simple steps.
It's been a funny few weeks. For me, the Autumn term is one that's always packed with purpose and productivity. After sunny evenings and weekends on the Beach, the back-to-school vibes are calling, and I always look forward to hitting the ground running and taking the rest of the year by a storm.
September is one of my favourite times of year. I always associate it with new shoes, a new coat and of course new stationary supplies. It brings warm days filled with sunshine and cool nights with open windows bringing in fresh air for restful sleeping. Produce is bountiful, with the hedgerows laded with blackberry brambles and the farmer’s market filled with baskets of field-ripened tomatoes, pears, apples, and plums, inspiring me to try new recipes.
But with so much anxiety about the cost-of-living crisis and the promise of further economic uncertainty to come, finding that autumnal energy has been challenge. So many of us are feeling frazzled and exhausted by the last few years that the thought of having to navigate our way through yet another crisis is... a lot.
I’m not immune to the anxiety either. I’m planning on staying positive, leaning into the things which inspire and nurture me, and putting my energies into the things I can influence. When times are tough, we need to focus on those things that we do uniquely well. This will make our businesses stronger as we build on our strengths, sharpen our messaging and communicate with even more resonance than usual.
Many people find it easier to hit the reset button in September than in the mid-winter when New Year’s resolutions are popular, but the malaise of January follows. I find September is a good time to review the goals and aspirations I set in December/ January and re-commit to them.
So, with four months until the end of the year, if you’ve fallen behind on a goal you had hoped to achieve, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you still have agency in your story. You have less time, but constraints can also be helpful. To reset your goals and finish the year strong, I recommend starting with these four simple steps.
Step 1: Recommit
Sometimes, resetting is as simple as revisiting your why.
For one of my clients, her why is her children. After years of domestic abuse, she’s rebuilding her life and her business while she helps her children to get over the experiences which cast a shadow over their early years.
You don’t necessarily need such a powerful reason to remind you what’s at stake. You can revisit the reasons you listed when you set the goal. Do they still resonate? Do they still matter to you? If so, decide to recommit to your goal.
If you can’t recommit to your goal, try this next step.
Step 2: Revise
Goals we can’t recommit to are probably in need of revision.
Your goal might be too far out of reach and simply not be achievable in its current form. Either because it was too big in the first place or it’s more complicated than it first appeared.
You don’t want to recommit to a goal you think you will fail to achieve as was the case for one of my clients. At the start of the year, she decided to set a goal which was a big stretch – to hit turnover of £1 million. The gap between where her business was and where she wanted it to be felt like a chasm, and she hit pause on the activities necessary to achieve her goal.
We’ve readjusted the size of her 2022 goal and adjusted the timeline to give her more time. Sometimes the best option is to be flexible and revise your goal to one which is not such a stretch.
Step 3: Replace
Sometimes, a goal simply isn’t relevant anymore.
Circumstances may have changed, and the world isn’t what you thought it would be when you set your goals in January. This is not an easy time to be running a business. The war in Ukraine, cost-of-living crisis and now economic turmoil, it’s been a wild year.
When we encounter circumstances outside our control, as we have this year, we must adapt. Because part of the future, we create, and part of it happens to us.
I had a goal to buy another property this year. Then the Truss government announced its not-so-mini budget and interest rates started rising. Suddenly, this goal seemed a lot less financially sustainable, and I hit pause.
If your goal simply doesn’t make sense anymore, set it aside without shame! But be sure to pick a new goal in its place because attaining goals is how we develop and grow. And that’s essential for happiness.
Step 4: Resource
One of the most common reasons we fall behind on our goals is because we haven’t resourced it effectively. Perhaps we haven’t set aside enough time or money. Or perhaps we don’t have the skillset, experience or capacity we need within our team.
In the case of my client reaching for her £1 million goal, her team wasn’t resourced. I helped her to work out the skills and experience she would need to achieve her goal and supported her through the recruitment process.
Getting the help we need has never been easier. Say goodbye to the endless cycle of DIY’ing and feeling overwhelmed’ about how to grow your business. Don’t be limited by the extent of your expertise. Find an expert who can help you go further, faster and ask for help.
You can finish the year strong. Revisit your goals. Recommit where you can. Revise where you can’t. Replace when necessary. And resource if possible.
We will get through this and I’m here to support you in any way I can. Here’s to Autumn and a strong finish to the year.
I'd love to know how you are feeling about the next few months. What are your plans for your business? Your wellbeing? Your creativity? How do you plan to get through it? Let me know in the comments box below.
About The Author
I’m Denyse Whillier, and I was a Chief Executive for 8 years, I spent 25 years in senior management and leadership roles and trained at Cranfield School of Management. I made the leap from corporate to founding my boutique business consultancy and have worked with a wide range of small and medium sized businesses, many of which are purpose-led. My mission is to close the gender gap in business and make it easier for women to start, grow and scale a successful business without compromising their values.
Whatever circumstances you find your business in, know that you’re not alone – and that I’m here to support you. An experienced and empathetic business advisor can make a massive difference to your business – as well as to your own sanity – so do consider getting in touch to book a friendly (and free) chat at any time. I’m always happy to talk you through how I could help. For examples of my work, check out my portfolio of case studies.