Sometimes it takes longer than you thought...

I’m in the eleventh year of my 5-year goal to hike the entire Bruce Trail.  Sometimes achieving goals takes longer than we initially anticipated. In 2014, when I first decided to hike the entire Bruce Trail which is over 850 km, I did the math on how many kilometres I thought I could do in a year and truly thought that I could be done in 5 years. I felt proud for setting a “realistic” goal timeline, one of the key components of a SMART goal. 

But it is really hard to predict the outcome of something you have never done before. We should pretty much assume that any action plan we create related to achieving a goal will need to be adjusted or modified. I didn’t know how quickly I would hike, how few days I would have some years to hike, the challenges of coordinating schedules with hiking partners and drivers, or the need to factor in travel time to the trailheads. 

As of today, I have hiked 688 km of the 870 km total (based on the 2014 version of the trail map book).  While I might have missed my original completion date goal, I continue to make progress.  Along the way I decided it was more important for me to enjoy the experience, than to finish quickly.

It’s okay for goals to take longer to achieve than you thought. Focus on enjoying the process.  Keep celebrating every small step of progress.