How to Release Goals that No Longer Serve You

Burnout Prevention

May 16

Photo of a brunette with a messy bun and glasses working at her laptop, with coffee and her notebook focused on filling out her Notion Template she just bought from Her Messy Bun. Stop chasing outdated goals. @hermessybun podcast and blog — *Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

The Art of Letting Go

I know first hand how easy it is to get caught up in the hustle and the pressure to constantly achieve more, or to keep thinking that you have to achieve certain goals because either it feels like it’s plastered all over social media or it’s been on your to do list since you started and you feel some form of obligation to them. However, if you're an entrepreneur seeking balance and growth, it's crucial to recognize when certain goals no longer serve you.

6 Steps to Let Go of Goals That No Longer Align

Nothing is more liberating than letting go of something that no longer aligns with who you are or where you are headed. Don’t get me wrong letting go of certain goals can feel scary but the experience allows you to find a sustainable rhythm and the act of letting go is in and of itself personal growth.

Reflect on Your Values and Priorities

To begin the journey of letting go, it’s important to take some time to reflect on your values and priorities. The best way to do this is to grab your journal and pen and ask yourself these questions:

What truly matters to you in both your personal and professional life?
Is your current goal aligned with these values?
Does it contribute to your overall well-being and happiness?

By gaining clarity on what is truly important to you, you can identify goals that may no longer serve your higher purpose.

This year in my Consciously Creative membership, we are doing a deep dive on goals, which means majority of my daily prompts are geared towards making sure you are fully aligned with what you want. These questions you asked yourself are from my daily prompts to help you tap into your intuitive thought process and figure out what you stand for, what you really want in life and what needs to change.

Reflection is important especially when you are doing it all on your own. When you have a team you have meetings, group discussions, and touch bases to make sure everything is still on track or aligned with the big picture. But when you are a solo-entrepreneur its not as easy to bounce your ideas around, or figure out what you really want because it’s just you. That’s why being apart of a membership like Consciously Creative will hold you accountable and help you process your thoughts through daily prompts and then during our monthly group coaching I can help you have those necessary meetings, bounce your ideas around, and make sure you’re staying on track with your short and long term goals.

2. Recognize the Signs of Outgrown Goals

Sometimes, goals that once fueled our motivation & drive can become outdated or no longer relevant. Look for signs that a goal may no longer be serving you, such as feeling drained or uninspired, losing interest or passion, or realizing that the goal no longer aligns with your long-term vision. Trust your intuition and be honest with yourself about whether it's time to let go and make room for new possibilities.

For instance, when I first started my podcast I was running an online candle shop, I had consistent wholesale customers, I was doing consignment, and I was actively participating in up to 10 craft shows and art fairs yearly all while running a full time Graphic Designer with retainer clients, annual contracted clients and new clients every other month… all while being a mom. As my love for the podcast grew, I could feel my priorities shifting, I could feel myself out growing my once beloved goals and dreams.

But in typical fashion, I was too scared to recognize that I was starting to resent the lack of freedom I had from running the candle shop as well as how it felt like certain clients were taking me for granted. When I finally reflected on what my priorities were like: having more time with my family, being able to work anywhere, wanting the freedom to pause working with clients at any given time, wanting to embrace a slower lifestyle, feeling called to help others realize there’s a world beyond hustle culture and toxic productivity...

I realized these values of mine did not align with what I was doing. It had always been a goal of mine to make and sell candles and be a graphic designer, so to realize that my goals were both achieved and no longer my goals anymore was more mind blowing than anything. But accepting this whole heartedly and then actually doing something about? That was the hard part.

3. Practice Detachment and Acceptance

Letting go requires practicing detachment and acceptance. Understand that releasing a goal doesn't mean you've failed or that it was unworthy. It's merely an acknowledgment that you have grown and evolved. Embrace the notion that letting go can open doors to new opportunities and allow for personal growth. Acceptance of this process will empower you to move forward with confidence.

The more you do this the easier it gets. Sometimes the goals you are letting go haven’t been reach at all. In some cases you can be letting go of goals that aren’t fully formed. And in most cases, you can be letting go of goals that weren’t really yours to begin with.

Acknowledging what you are experiencing is what will help you release your grip, and accepting what you are going through will help give you the strength to listen to your gut and let go.

I had a friend who quit their corporate job to pursue self employment with absolutely no plan! Actually, I know a lot of people who do this. But this particular friend hired a business coach and spent loads of money and energy trying to create a business that they never really wanted in the first place. Because what they did know was that they were no longer happy working for someone else in corporate.

Every time we talked about their goals they would mention that they just wanted to create content because they were good at it. They always likes the idea of being creative and confused being good at something with being passionate about it. Every time they met with their business coach, they would come back thinking they had to turn what they were good at in to some form of a coaching business. I don’t know if it was the business coach, or if it was not fully understanding the endless possibility of self employment, but not everything has to lead to coaching, and not everything you’re good at should be turned into a business, especially when you lack the passion that you need in order to keep it going.

Eventually, my friend came to realize trying to do something that they had no passion for was burning them the F out and had to accept that this goal wasn’t theirs.

This can be scary especially when you’re in the beginning stages of self employment or still haven’t found the breakthroughs you’ve been looking for. Which is part of the reason so many people hold on to goals or ideas that hold them back. Because when you’re already working in negative energy, it’s easier to distract yourself from figuring out what you really want to do, and even when you do figure it out, it’s easier to self sabotage, because you haven’t switched over to working in positive energy yet.

4. Set New, Intentional Goals

Ok, so now that you’ve reflected on your values and priorities, identified the goals you’ve outgrown or were never right for you to begin with, and you’ve accepted that it’s time to detach yourself from the goals that no longer serve you, it's time to set new, intentional goals that align with your values and promote balance. Focus on goals that bring you joy & fulfillment.

Consider setting goals that encompass more than just work, and include various aspects of your life, such as health, relationships, and personal growth. If you’re really over the anti hustle culture and toxic productivity, then these new goals should contribute to your overall well-being and support a sustainable work-life balance.

Last summer a few of my favorite creative entrepreneurs reached out to me because they had recently found out they were pregnant for the first time. If you know me then you know I’m a mom of two, and I became a mom 2 years after I started working for myself. Which means I’ve had to prep and plan for maternity leave while self employed twice. These lovely clients knew that and they wanted help to encompass a sustainable work-life balance with in their goals.

Most of us are used to setting goals that sound like “make more money” or “grow my social media” and the reason for that is those are the goals that we hear or see plastered all over social media. In order to set intentional goals, you have to get specific, and I’m not talking change “make more money” to “make $10,000” or “grow my social media” to “reach 10,000 followers” - no I’m talking specific to the values and the priorities you reflected on in stage one of this process.

I’m going to breakdown the same example I shared with my clients.

Earlier, I mentioned that as I fell in love with establishing Her Messy Bun - The Creative Podcast one of my priorities was wanting to embrace a slower lifestyle, and one of my values was to help others realize there’s a world beyond hustle culture and toxic productivity.

My intentional goals, or rather goals that are infused with these values and priorities, looked like:

creating a product or service that would truly benefit my clients and listeners WHILE allowing me more free time to spend with my family
do things that bring me joy like painting and growing a garden.

This is when I went from full time Graphic Designer to Creative Consultant. This is when Her Messy Bun became more than just creating podcast episodes for people I knew, and turned into creating episodes for the community of creative entrepreneurs I connected with via social media.

To get specific, this meant a basic goal of “make more money” turned into, “create a passive stream of income by creating a digital product my audience will love and can purchase directly after seeing my content or listening to my podcast”. And the basic goal of “grow my social media” turned into “create content for my social media that generates brand awareness and continues to connects with creative entrepreneurs and digital content creators while inspiring and educating them about sustainable productivity”.

While these goals are clear business goals, they also encompass different aspects of my life. Having passive income gives me more time for my family and other passions, while still being able to help and engage with my new found community. Showcasing sustainable productivity practices allows me to incorporate different aspects of my personal life in order to make real connections.

The more you practice listening to your intuition the easier it is for you to connect with what kind of goals you really want. Which is why the first step of letting go is to process your thoughts.

5. Embrace Flexibility and Adaptability

As an entrepreneur working from home, you have the advantage of flexibility. Embrace this flexibility and be open to adapting your goals as needed. Recognize that life is constantly changing, and your goals should evolve with it. Allow yourself to be responsive to new opportunities and adjust your course when necessary. This flexibility will help you maintain balance while pursuing meaningful goals.

If all you’ve ever known was the 9-5 or the hustle and grind, adjusting how you work can feel weird, and consciously creating goals that incorporate personal growth and sustainable productivity can be hard. The thing is, if you are actively burning out, self sabotaging yourself or feeling like imposter then what you’re doing isn’t working. Embrace the flexibility that comes with being self employed and working from home, and all yourself to let go of the goals that that holding you back.

6. Celebrate Progress and Practice Self-Care

As you navigate the process of letting go and setting new goals, remember to celebrate your progress along the way. Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small, and take time to practice self-care. Building a sustainable work-life balance requires taking care of your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Prioritize self-care activities that rejuvenate you and replenish your energy.

I’ve been on a journey of self discovery since becoming a mom who also works from home. The majority of my identity is tied to my home. I’m a mom at home, I work at home, I wife at home, I eat at home, I human at home…

When everything you do is in your home, everything can feel enmeshed, which is not healthy for your overall well being. You can start to lose yourself, especially when you don’t have a designated studio or office space with a door. This enmeshment can mess with your boundaries, but when you prioritize yourself, listening to what you want, resting and recharging, celebrating your wins and doing things that make you feel most like yourself, your practicing self care, you’re creating balance for yourself and you’re protecting your energy.

Learning to let go of goals that no longer align with the future you want to have, or the life you’re trying to live, is a huge step in this journey or self discovery. Be proud of yourself!

This was a long one, but I’m proud of you for reading all the way to the end, so before I go, I’m going to recap the steps to finding balance and letting go of goals that no longer serve you because this process is crucial for long-term success.

First reflect on your values and priorities, you can do this by answering the prompts I gave you at the beginning of the blog. When you’ve processed your thoughts around your values, you’ll start to recognize the signs of your outgrown goals, then you have to practice detaching yourself from these goals through acceptance. Once thats done, you can set new, intentional goals that encompasses your priorities. Finally, allow yourself to embrace flexibility & adaptability that comes with releasing the negative energy surrounding the death grip you once had on the goals that no longer serve you and celebrate the wins, no matter how small they may feel.

Letting go of things that no longer serve you can be transformative journey. If you ever need help, accountability or support head to hermessybun.com/membership and join one the most supportive groups of creatives!