Not Making Progress? Change Your Goal or Change Your Process
Once you put a significant amount of effort into reaching a goal and you recognize you aren’t making enough progress you have three choices.
- You can do nothing, and keep getting what you are getting, which is obviously a bad choice.
- You can change your goal.
- Or, you can change your process.
Assuming we agree that choice one is a bad choice, you are truly left with option two and three. What’s more, there is a rule of thumb I suggest you use to decide between these two options.
Consider the option of changing the goal if you notice a glaring weakness you must fix to make progress. It may be that you are spinning your wheels trying to turn this weakness into a strength. It could also be a weakness that’s in a blind spot you’re either ignoring or taking for granted. Either way, research shows that by and large, most people can’t turn weaknesses into strengths. Therefore, if your goal is highly dependent on you turning a weakness into a strength, then it’s probably best to change the goal.
If it’s not a weakness preventing you from reaching your goal, then changing your process is likely the best course of action. This may still require addressing a weakness. For example, investing some minimum amount of time in managing the weakness so it doesn’t get in the way. Or alternatively investing more time sharpening your strengths so they are more impactful.
Given the complexity of the self-analysis you need to make these choices, the best course of action typically starts with getting help from a neutral third-party. So ultimately the first step to take when progress becomes a major issue is to seek the support of a coach or mentor.