Setting Realistic Goals
Introduction
With the dawn of the new year, it’s common for people to set goals for themselves. However, many have difficulty seeing these goals through to fulfillment– the joke of the ‘new years resolution gym crowd’, who infamously only stays through January, is a prime illustration of this phenomenon. Why can it seem so difficult for us to complete our new years resolutions? There are a number of reasons, but let’s take a look at the most common ones.
Unrealistic Goals
Many people tend to choose resolutions that are unrealistic for them. They set goals that are too many, too time consuming, or too ambitious. If you are someone who hates traditional exercise or who struggles with finding the motivation to leave the house, setting a goal to start going to the gym every day is to set yourself up for failure. Similarly, if you try to juggle a number of new regular activities with an already busy work and life schedule, you will likely fail due to burnout or loss of motivation. How to prevent this? It all starts with setting realistic goals.
Realistic Goals
Self-reflection is an important first step in goal setting. What things are most important to you? What will help you grow as a person? When setting a new goal for yourself, it is also important to ask yourself why you want to achieve it. It is easier to see a resolution through to the end if there’s a purpose. Connecting your goals to a reason also helps you keep in sight what you should be doing, and helps you avoid getting sidetracked. If you are someone who struggles with setting overly ambitious goals, you might also benefit from breaking down your goals into more attainable, bite sized pieces. For instance, if you set a goal to read a certain number of books in a year, set a base reading goal for yourself: for instance, 2 chapters a day. Finally, it is important to allow yourself some buffer time; if you try to cram goals in back-to-back, you will inevitably fall apart when something takes longer than expected, or when you encounter an unexpected delay.
Bettering Yourself
When setting goals, you can use the acronym SMART to assess them:
Specific - Identify the category into which your goal falls; if it has to do with self-improvement, identify the area in which you want to improve. It can be anything!
Measurable - Figure out how to measure progress in your objective. For some things it’s easy, but for others, you may need to get a bit creative!
Achievable - Make sure your goal is possible with your level of ability and the amount of time allotted for its completion.
Realistic - Make sure your goal makes sense for where you are. Without adequate time and motivation, seeing your goal through will be much more difficult.
Time-related - Set a specific time frame for the goal– have in mind a certain amount of time or an end date.
While it may seem counterintuitive, when setting out to achieve a goal, you should focus on continuation, not improvement. Focusing too much on improving yourself will lead to self-judgment, anxiety, and, ultimately, demotivation. Conversely, if you focus on completing your goal(s), you are more likely to feel vindication in the goal itself, and more likely to see it through. Self-betterment will come as a byproduct! Finally, don’t dwell on past failures. Instead, imagine this is the time you succeed at last!
Sources:
Threads, Common. “How to Set the Best Goals for You in the New Year!” Common Threads, 19 Dec. 2022, https://www.commonthreads.org/blog/goal-setting/?gclid=CjwKCAiA_OetBhAtEiwAPTeQZ6UCBmDT0jENofOJqeDXU1EWhfFMmvkNJsF9pngn8XVgOHgHVjx0nBoCSt0QAvD_BwE.
Ravishankar, Rakshitha Arni, and Kelsey Alpaio. “5 Ways to Set More Achievable Goals.” Harvard Business Review, 30 Aug. 2022, https://hbr.org/2022/08/5-ways-to-set-more-achievable-goals.
