Before I made this blog, I considered what my introductory post would be. Should I explicitly state my intention to publish a new post every day, discussing an article or topic that I'd come across? After considering this (and, if I'm being honest, actually making a separate blog to do so), I decided it was unrealistic of me to believe that I would write a blog post every day, possibly even every week. While setting goals can be productive, and putting them in writing can make them seem more "real," creating goals that aren't well thought out and that are spur of the moment can set the bar too high.
If a goal is not reached, what does that make the goal setter? A failure? Probably not, but after a series of unrealistic goals are set and never met, an unconscious mental state of expected failure can develop. It is important to assess the accomplishability of any endeavor prior to setting out to conquer it. If an individual decides to set a long-term goal:: to exercise 4 times per week to lose and keep off 50 pounds or to finish college with a 3.6 or higher GPA, a smaller goal should be set to begin with. For example, an initial goal to exercise at least once per week is a good starting point. After accomplishing it for 2-3 weeks, set a new goal to exercise 2-3 times per week. Reaching little goals that gradually get one to the major goal pave the way for a successful and positive mentality.
The purpose of most goals should be to develop healthy and productive habits. Healthy and productive habits lead to a healthy and productive life. Along these lines, it should be expected that such goals are long-term. I am a firm believer that setting a short-term goal in hopes that it will have long-term success is a poor choice, because more often than not...it doesn't. What I have in mind right now is a 'diet challenge' or some event that requests participants to eat healthily for a certain number of days in order to win a prize. In my opinion, developing the habit to eat a healthy diet is a long-term goal. It is something that should eventually become part of one's lifestyle. By jumping on the bandwagon and 'committing' to a diet for a set period of time, a person is potentially setting him or herself up for failure in the long-term. After the 30 or 45 days is complete, the challenge is over with, prizes are distributed, and previous eating habits emerge as dominant once again. Why? Inevitably, with a thought as simple as "the diet challenge is over," a person convinces him or herself that there is no reason to maintain the healthy diet choices they were making during the challenge. In reality, the person, more than likely, lacks the motivation to do so. Cycles like this are detrimental to anyone who rides them...if a person is joining a challenge as motivation to eat or be healthy, then long-term failure is almost certainly in his or her future.
It takes resolution from within (I believe that committing to something personally, for your self, as opposed to for a prize or with a friend or due to peer pressure, is the only way you can truly succeed in the long-term) to reach goals.
I know that what I'm saying doesn't apply to everyone, but it does to many. Being realistic is goal I met a long time ago.
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