3 Things You Need to Stop Doing to Reach Your Goals This Year

Written By Cassidyy Atkins

We're getting closer to the end of the year, and maybe you're looking at some of the goals you set months ago thinking, I really thought I'd be further along by now.

Maybe there are things you said you were going to do that you haven't started. Maybe you've made progress, but it doesn't feel like enough. Maybe you've already started mentally pushing some of those goals into next year.

I want to tell you something:

Don't write this year off.

You don't need January 1. You don't need a brand-new planner. You don't need another vision board.

You need a decision.

There is still time to move your life forward, but there are three things I believe you have to stop doing if you're serious about accomplishing what you've said you want to accomplish.

1. Stop Waiting Until You Feel Ready

We put so much emphasis on feeling ready.

I'll start when I feel more confident. I'll make the move when I know exactly what I'm doing. I'll put myself out there once I'm prepared.

But when I look at the most meaningful things I've done in my life, I don't think I've ever felt 100% ready.

I've started businesses. I've bought properties. I've started You Are More. I've had children. And with so many of those things, you simply jump and figure it out along the way.

You build the airplane in the air.

Moses didn't feel qualified. Gideon didn't feel capable. Peter didn't know what it was going to feel like to step out onto the water.

They moved.

Confidence almost always comes after the action, not before it.

You don't build all the confidence you need and then finally do the thing. You build confidence because you did the thing.

And yes, that may mean becoming a beginner again.

That's uncomfortable, especially when you've already become successful or experienced in another area of your life. Nobody loves going from knowing what they're doing to saying, I have no idea how to do this.

But growth requires us to become learners again.

So ask yourself: What do I already know I need to do that I keep postponing?

Maybe it's making the phone call. Starting the business. Changing a habit. Having the conversation. Getting serious about your health. Putting yourself out there.

Stop waiting for the feeling.

Move.

2. Stop Negotiating With Yourself

This one is huge.

We make decisions in strong moments and renegotiate them in weak moments.

You decide you're getting up early, and then the alarm goes off and you're tired.

You decide you're making the calls, and then something more fun comes up.

You decide you're going to stop spending money, and suddenly there's something you convince yourself you need.

You decide you're going to work out, and then you find a perfectly reasonable explanation for why today probably isn't the best day.

We negotiate ourselves right out of our commitments.

And here's what I want you to understand: every time you keep a promise to yourself, you're building something bigger than the result of that individual action.

You're building trust with yourself.

There's something powerful about knowing, When I say I'm going to do something, I do it.

That builds confidence.

You don't need to become disciplined in every area of your life overnight. Pick one non-negotiable and stop negotiating with it.

Do what you said you were going to do.

3. Stop Measuring Your Progress by How Far You Still Have to Go

Sometimes you're making incredible progress and can't even see it because all you're looking at is the distance between where you are and where you ultimately want to be.

You have this huge vision, and because you're not there yet, it feels like you've barely moved.

That's why you need micro commitments.

Break the big vision down into things you can actually measure and win.

What can you do today?

What can you do this week?

What activity, repeated consistently, moves you closer?

Because days compound. Time compounds. Small actions compound.

Set yourself up to win.

And while you're looking forward, don't forget to look backward every once in a while.

Look at what you've survived.

Look at what you've learned.

Look at what you've stopped tolerating.

Look at the person you're becoming.

Progress isn't only found in reaching the final destination.

Sometimes the greatest evidence of progress is realizing you're no longer the person who started.

So focus on the micro commitments. Win the moment in front of you.

I love going to bed at night knowing, I gave it my all today. I threw everything I had at my future today.

There is something about growth that makes you feel alive.

Growth requires resistance. Building muscle requires tension. And the same thing is true in your life.

Resistance builds perseverance.

Delay builds endurance.

Staying the course teaches you how to become someone who stays the course.

You Don't Need January 1

As I'm recording this, we're in early September.

We still have almost four months left in this year.

Do not write off an entire year because it hasn't looked exactly like you thought it would.

You don't need a new year to change direction.

You need a decision.

Stop waiting until you're ready.

Stop negotiating with yourself.

Stop staring at how far you still have to go.

Move before you feel completely ready. Pick your non-negotiable. Make the micro commitment. Win today.

And maybe instead of asking yourself, Can I still accomplish my goals this year? ask a different question:

Who would I have to become over the next four months to accomplish them?

Become that person.

You Are More isn't just a statement to me. It's a life.

I'm always in the process of becoming, and so are you.

You're created for greatness. You're created for growth.

There is still time. Now move.

You truly are more.


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Episode Minute By Minute:

  • 00:00 – 3 Things to Stop Doing Before the Year Ends

  • 00:55 – Join Amy's 6 AM Bible Study Club

  • 01:25 – #1: Stop Waiting Until You Feel Ready

  • 01:55 – Build the Airplane While You're Flying

  • 02:25 – Confidence Comes After You Move

  • 03:00 – Be Willing to Become a Beginner Again

  • 03:35 – What Are You Procrastinating On?

  • 04:00 – #2: Stop Negotiating With Yourself

  • 04:25 – Strong Decisions vs. Weak Moments

  • 05:15 – Keeping Promises to Yourself Builds Confidence

  • 05:45 – #3: Stop Measuring How Far You Have to Go

  • 06:15 – Why Micro Commitments Matter

  • 07:00 – Set Yourself Up to Win

  • 07:25 – Look at Who You're Becoming

  • 08:00 – Win the Day in Front of You

  • 08:25 – Why Resistance Is Good for You

  • 09:05 – Don't Write This Year Off

  • 09:30 – You Don't Need January 1—You Need a Decision

  • 09:50 – Who Do You Need to Become?

  • 10:20 – The 3 Things to Stop Doing

  • 10:40 – You Are More!

Cassidyy Atkins
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