How to put a big goal on hold but still keep it alive?

Have you had to put a goal on hold for the more urgent and more pressing? Sometimes in life, we have to make a choice to put something we really want to do, a big dream, goal or idea on hold in order to do the necessary in the moment. This happened to me last August, 2019. My big goal is to design and establish a blog business that inspires and encourages over 50 women to make this chapter of our lives the best yet, to relaunch, rediscover and even reinvent ourselves to love the life we have right now. And I was scooting along with my blog, learning the how to’s, writing posts, designing my website and beginning to get an idea how to do it all, when you know what…life happened and my big goal got put on hold.

Do the necessary, but keep the big dream/goal.

It’s incredibly important to have a big dream, a stretch goal, that you are consistently working on. But it’s also important to give oneself grace when you have to set that goal aside for a time to do the immediate, more necessary thing. I was struggling to keep up with all the tasks, to do’s and all the huge changes that were happening in my life back in August. And I was becoming completely overwhelmed with everything that had to be done. We had made the decision to sell our house in Colorado and move to Florida to be by the water and start a new career as real estate agents. This was not a small event. It was one of those life changing things that can catapult you to a new place, a new future. And for us, it literally was a new place.

Well, we made it through that first stage of the transition. We sold our house (in one day! Amazing!); found and bought a house in Northern Florida (for me, sight unseen. Talk about scary trust!); packed and decluttered and eliminated the unnecessary; took a detour trip to Hawaii – a much needed respite ;); and finally, drove an RV, two cars, two dogs and two cats to Florida.

Putting a goal on hold…only for a time.

But the transition was not over. There was more work to be done: renovating the house we purchased; completing our real estate course and passing the state licensing exam; getting through the arduous task of unpacking and organizing after renovating the house; having family come to visit; beginning a new career; and somehow still finding time to enjoy life, which is high on our priority list in our stage of life. But from this short list, it’s not hard to see why my blog, my big goal, had to be put on hold.

Now this doesn’t mean I gave up on my big stretch goal. Nope! It just needed to be set aside for a time. And that’s ok! As long as we keep it alive in our heart and soul, it will come back. And here I am…writing again. And it feels so good! It’s been awhile, and at times I doubted whether I should change my goal or even go back to it. But that little voice, that flutter in my stomach, kept saying…’No, you can do it. This is you. This is what you really want to do.’

Getting back to your big goal.

And that kind of goal that makes your stomach flutter is what we need to keep in our heart and mind. I want to encourage you to NOT let that stretch goal die or go in the proverbial trash heap of failed or never achieved goals. It’s ok to put it on hold for the more urgent or necessary. But keep it ever before you.

• Think about it.
• Write it down in your journal.
• Learn something about your goal, even something small.
• Make a list of all the things you will need and want to do once you are able to go back to your goal.
• Do something small daily, if possible, that keeps your goal before you. Maybe read an article relating to your goal; while working through the necessary tasks, write down ways that same activity could nurture your goal; keep a notebook of ideas you think of that you can use to help your big goal become a reality, even if you can’t quite do it right now.
• Nurture that goal like the treasure it is. Even if you can not work on it directly right now, you can still nurture it, keep it alive, and allow it to simmer until it’s time to jump in again.
• Get crystal clear about your goal. Use this time of ‘on hold’ to get more focused and crystal clear about the stretch goal you have. It may be that this time off will help make you even more committed, more focused, more clear about what you really want.

How to reconnect to your big goal.

• Finally, jump back into to that big goal as soon as you can. Recommit to it! Do not let procrastination steal your big goal. Once the urgent and necessary is settled down, take the next step toward your goal.
• Don’t wait! Life will always be busy. There will never be that ‘perfect time’ to finally achieve your big goal. Yes, you may have to put it on hold, but do not give up on it.
• Get back in the game as soon as you can! Take small steps in the beginning and when the motivation and excitement returns, (and it will, I promise) then do more each day towards that goal.

• Make lists! write down everything you can think of that needs to be done to achieve your goal, and maybe even break those items down even further. Now prioritize the list.
• Set a routine and develop a habit. That big goal won’t just ‘happen’. You will need to work for it. Set up a regular schedule or routine for when and how you will get that work done.
• Applaud yourself and celebrate all the small wins. Each little step towards your big goal is worth celebrating. Rather than always focusing on the long list of tasks yet to do, remember to look back at what you already did. It will keep you motivated.

Life happens…keep going after your big goal!

By this stage of our journey through life, our over 50’s, we have been through enough that we understand sometimes life just happens. The unexpected, or the urgent or even the planned, but time-consuming can all take precedence over what we ‘want’ to do. But that does not mean we give up our big goals. They can still be achieved. We can still nurture them and return to them when life settles down a bit. Keep that big dream/goal alive and you will make it a reality. It just might take more time than you thought.

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