Summary

The author reflects on the experience of achieving goals without initially realizing it due to a focus on objectives and activities, emphasizing the importance of recognizing overall progress and well-being.

Abstract

The author, a self-proclaimed reformed perfectionist, shares insights into the realization that achieving a goal may not always align with completing every objective or activity set forth. After facing health issues and making lifestyle changes, the author recognized significant personal and professional achievements of the month, despite not accomplishing all initial tasks. The article suggests that it's possible to meet overarching goals while also acknowledging that the journey to those goals can be non-linear and involve unexpected paths. The author encourages readers to celebrate their achievements, even if the road to success looks different than anticipated, and to maintain perspective on their overall well-being and life balance.

Opinions

The author believes that it's important to set realistic goals and be aware of the tendency to overcorrect when recovering from perfectionism.
There is an emphasis on the idea that achieving a goal is the ultimate objective, and that the specific steps taken to reach that goal can be flexible.
The author expresses that focusing too much on the "doing" can lead to missing the bigger picture of what one has accomplished.
The author values health and well-being as significant achievements, beyond professional or personal goals.
There is a personal assertion that perfectionism can mask the success of reaching a goal, leading to unnecessary self-criticism.
The author suggests that subscribing to their stories, joining Medium, or following "The Orange Journal" can provide further insights into self-improvement and personal development.

Have You Achieved a Goal, But You Can't See It?

We can reach a goal and not realize it because we're not focused on the goal.

"I've got goals" Designed by Author (Carmellita) in Canva

If you are a goal-getter and not just a goal-setter, you can get quite frustrated when you miss the mark. I'm still working on my views about productivity and time management as I share in my story, Is Perfectionism a Form of Self-Sabotage?

Thus, after some issues I faced in May, I have a brand-new outlook on goal achievement.

I set goals. In recent years, I've stopped setting unimaginable and damn-near impossible goals. When recovering from perfectionism, you must watch out for the subconscious tendency to overcorrect and overachieve.

Most importantly, in May, I discovered the source of a medical condition I've struggled with for three years and what's been happening in my body. I was experiencing extreme fatigue due to the illness.

I've changed my diet, supplementation, and activity level and am rounding the corner back to health and well-being. Yay! I'm seriously thinking about throwing myself a party! 🥳💃🏾🎈

That Sneaky Perfectionist

So, here I am, feeling better, more energetic, and back to my "lively self (at least that's what my friends say)," but when I sat down and looked at my goals for May to access my progress, the old perfectionist reared her head.

As I reviewed my objectives and activities for about a minute, nothing I did was good enough.

I snapped back when I looked at my overall goals for the month. What brought me back?

I noticed I had met many of my goals as a writer, storyteller, and poet. I had accomplished my goals with fewer workdays. Awesome.

Hey, lesson learned. Now, I know it is possible to meet a goal even if you may not achieve all your objectives, complete every activity, and meet all your milestones.

The Goal is to Achieve the Goal

Losing sight of a goal because we're focused on accomplishing our objective is similar to not seeing the forest for the trees.

An objective is the means to reaching a goal; the activities are how we meet the objective, and our milestones help us measure achievement along the way.

An example of meeting a goal but not an objective will be if your goal is to become a homeowner in 2022. One of your objectives may be to increase your credit score, but before you increase your credit score, you purchase a home through a local homeowner's program with your bank.

What's the problem? You're a homeowner. The goal is to meet the goal.

You can still increase your credit score.

No, I didn't get to complete all the activities I wanted this month, such as publishing a story with every publication I'm where I am a writer or writing for other platforms.

Do these activities help me grow my readership and build an audience? Yes, it does. Did I increase my readership? Yes, I did. Am I building an audience? It surely feels like it.

When you focus so much on the "doing," often you can't see what you've done. You may miss the bigger picture. It's like winning the race and taking two extra laps because you didn't know you'd won.

Hence, I don't want to lose perspective because I feel good beyond all other goals. I feel balanced. I am healthy.

I'm also counting my blessings.

Fam, I'm curious. Have you ever been so caught up in getting the job done you didn't realize you did it?

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