It’s the end of Q1: Do you know where your goals are?

This week officially marks the end of the first quarter, and hopefully you’ve made some serious traction toward achieving your goals.

OK, be honest. Do you even remember setting your 2018 goals? Goal- setting at the beginning of the year really is exciting. It can be so inspiring to think about the future and all the possibilities ahead.

In fact, I like to get a jump start on annual goals for my business and all other important areas of my life. I start in October, mainly because I get a lot of inspiration for new ideas by being outside in nature. And those Midwest Fall days really stir my soul.

I usually set aside time on my calendar for a 1- or 2-day retreat somewhere with inspiring views where I review last year’s goals and think about my direction for the upcoming year.

But come late-January, it’s easy to lose focus. Day-to-day activities kick in and take over. It’s easy to slip right into default mode, automatically going through motions and putting out fires that seem to spring up from nowhere.

When I’m working with individual clients or in group settings, I recommend people put quarterly strategy sessions on the calendar.

Whether you are a sole proprietor, a large employer, a team leader, or an individual working to create more harmony in your life, taking this step can be a powerful component to help you stay on track and achieve life’s most important goals.

These quarterly sessions are part of what I call a sustainment strategy. Without a clear strategy to sustain and maintain momentum, goals will get lost. I suggest blocking several hours on your calendar at the end of each quarter to have a strategy session to review your goals.

I often find that new opportunities have risen that I didn’t account for back in October. So I revise as needed.

The last thing you want to do is look at your goals at the end of the year to realize that you completely lost track of what mattered most and have made no forward momentum.

I would love to hear what you’re doing to stay on track toward your goals. What’s your sustainment strategy?

And remember the most important reason for setting goals in thee words of Jim Rohn:

“The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get,” It’s who you become in the pursuing of a goal that makes it worth the effort.”