Centering Thought: Even if someone else sets my goal or my deadline, only I can agree to completing the goal on-time or not. Therefore, I am ultimately in charge of my own goals. Knowing this, I am empowered to do my best and to ask for help when and where I need it as I work to reach my self-defined goals.
Goal-setting is a natural part of any healthy human lifestyle. People contribute to their communities and the greater society at large by identifying, setting and completing both group and individual goals, working alone or in teams.
But exactly how to identify and reach those goals can be a major challenge for many people, especially when mental wellbeing is compromised.
We can break down the puzzle of goal-setting into its various pieces to determine exactly where our own obstacles lie: Do we have unrealistic expectations of how long it will take us to complete certain tasks or how many tasks and projects we can take on at one time? Do we forget to factor in our energy levels and account for other basic needs? Do we perhaps have limiting self-talk that keeps us from striving to reach new goals in the first place? Maybe our biggest challenge is being able to break down our large goals into smaller, actionable steps?
Luckily for us, any puzzle piece that’s missing in our overall goal-setting picture can be discovered through any number of tools that exist today: Online resources abound with tools like “S.M.A.R.T. Goals” trackers and templates (an acronym that stands for “Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed”) to break down our goals into realistic steps with deadlines; support groups, coaches and motivational social media pages can cheer us on or help us ID and replace negative self-talk that dulls our motivation; we can even create social media or real-life mood boards and vision boards to design and envision the goals we want to achieve. We can also seek out and learn more about time-saving hacks like task-batching or use calendar apps and software to bring our projects to life.
The way we think definitely impacts our ability to achieve, both positively and negatively. For instance, if we think we aren’t good at something, we may resist stretching out of our comfort zone to find resources and teachers who can help us get better at it.
Another way this disrupts our goal achievement is over-identifying with procrastination. However, when we remember that we are ultimately in charge of our own goal-setting and timelines, we can feel empowered to do our best and to seek assistance when and where we need it as we work toward meeting our goals.