Big goals and New Year resolutions are often abandoned between January to February by some estimates. If you've made it to July and still remember your resolutions, you're probably doing better than most. Losing momentum happens. Life happens. Unexpected things happen and consume time that was allocated elsewhere.

a personal goal can be a lonely journey that requires self-discipline, dedication and the unlikely scenario of life not getting in the way

Personal versus work goals

Unfortunately, personal goals are more likely than work goals to be deserted. Work resolutions or goals are driven by a manager, project manager or simply the need to get paid. Making consistent progress towards a personal goal can be a lonely journey that requires self-discipline, dedication and the unlikely scenario of life not getting in the way. Unless a goal will definitely result in an undesirable and immediate outcome, postponing progress is an easy choice to make each day until you eventually forget about it altogether.

Habits over ultimatums

Giving yourself ultimatums is one way of handling the issue, but if it isn't grounded in truth, ultimatums or undesirable, though unlikely, outcomes aren't going to motivate you for long. The only way to ensure you start working on a thing is to just do that thing for which creating a habit is the only means to an end. As a habit, you just do it. It's time to do it, you do it and at some point, it's just something you do or even become addicted to doing. But before forming a habit related to a specific goal, it's important to ask yourself a few questions.

Cause of stagnation

Do you lack enthusiasm for the goal compared to when it was set? It might be something you no longer need or want to achieve? Circumstances and aspirations change, it's normal. Don't push yourself to do something you don't genuinely want. If you believe a resolution or goal no longer benefits or interests you, cut your losses and move on.

Are you coming out of a brief slump? Did you lose momentum because something got in the way? A palette cleanse could help. Try a thorough clean out of your home or workspace, minimalize or review what could be minimalized further, wrap up the thing that caused the slump (e.g. settling into a new home or new job), rewrite your resolutions and ideal outcomes somewhere accessible, or start a new social media profile to post your progress and feel accountable.

Do you regret abandoning a goal? Did you give up out of laziness? Maybe you can't identify a tangible cause or you struggle with motivation or procrastination? Try reviving your enthusiasm by creating a moodboard or reminder board and remind yourself daily why you must or want to achieve something.

After you've figured out what has been setting you back, you can begin working on building habits that support reaching your annual- or half-year - goal.

Go to part 2 for how to quickly form habits that will help you reboot your goals or resolutions.