First, you have to decide whether the goal is still important to you. Face it, things change. Sometimes we set a goal and gradually drift away from doing the work necessary to achieve it because we have lost interest in the goal. Something more important has come up in our life, or we find that the goal isn't really worth the cost (effort, concentration, etc.) that is required to achieve it. So, re-examine the goal.

Now, assuming the goal is still important to you, reset the goal! This is important. Don't just leave the old goal out there and say "Well, it's still my goal, I'll reach it sometime." Instead, go through the same process you did when you originally set the goal.

Let me give you an example from my own life. Last year I had set a weight-loss goal. My goal was to lose 45 pounds in about 8-1/2 months because my wife and I were going to go on our first cruise. We wanted to lose weight to look better for the cruise, so that gave us good motivation. I had another motivator. I had a couple pieces of really fine clothes that I had never been able to wear on a regular basis because...you know why! The clothes would fit really well after I had lost 25 pounds. I could see myself in those clothes because they were real, and I could easily visualize it. I lost 25 pounds in about five months and another five pounds in the month after that. Then I stalled. I kept the weight off (until after the cruise), but I didn't lose any more. Even after the cruise I maintained my 25 pound loss.

Now, think about it...that is not a BAD thing! I lost 25 pounds and after 14 months from the start of that diet I'm still down 25 pounds. But, I want to lose another 20 pounds. So, I didn't really fail, but I haven't reached the goal.

What to do? Find new motivation (obviously, just wanting to lose it isn't enough!) and reset the goal. Just remembering that I haven't finished is not enough; I need a new, revitalized goal, one I can achieve.

My motivation came last week with the announcement that my high school class (of '63) has another reunion planned for this summer. There's the new motivation; now I've reset the goal. I have the goal weight identified, I have a definite target date for accomplishing the goal, and I know the method I will use to accomplish it.

Let me summarize what I did to reset the goal:

1. I recognized the fact that I had not reached the original goal.
2. I decided that the goal is something I really want to accomplish.
3. I examined the reasons for having fallen short.
4. I found a way to correct those reasons.
5. I reset the goal with a new date, a new motivator, and a plan of action.

The key is to set a new goal; don't just remember the old one. Concentrating on the old, missed goal is a negative and will not motivate you to succeed. Setting a new goal with a revitalized plan of action that you can believe in is a positive motivation...and you WILL succeed!