Goal Setting

Should You Set Massive Goals or Realistic Goals in 2024?

When it comes to goal-setting, some people say set huge goals while some say you have to be realistic.

Some people say you need to set goals that scare you while others say you need to set goals that you believe you can achieve.

So, who’s right and who’s wrong?

Both of them.

Both of them are right and both of them are wrong.

Goal setting is not that simple.

How you approach goal-setting is based on 4 things:

1. Your Personality 
2. The Nature of the Goal
3. Your Commitment Level
4. The Behaviors the Goal Requires in Relationship to your Identity 

1. Your Personality

Are you someone who is patient or not?

Most of us need to work on our patience.

But when goal-setting, you have to know yourself. You have to know whether or not you are patient with the results you want to attain or not. 

Because to achieve any kind of meaningful goal, the result is going to take time.

Actions and results are not always closely related in time and space.

You can’t eat one healthy meal and expect to lose 3 lbs.

You can’t workout for one week and expect to look ripped.

If you're impatient, then create shorter timelines for your goals. And make sure your goal isn’t massive within that short period of time.

Along the same lines, you have to understand if you are someone who is outcome focused or process focused.

Do you rely on the outcome for motivation? Or do you get motivation from the execution of the process?

With the example of a weight loss goal, a lot of people are too outcome focused. If they don’t see the number on the scale move after a week or two, then they feel defeated and quit.

Some people get motivation from the process. Some people feel proud of themselves after completing a tough workout and after meal prepping for the week.

If you’re outcome focused, then first off, start to shift your mindset to being more process focused. But secondly, if you are too outcome focused, make sure you set goals that are attainable.

Your level of patience and your ability to focus on the process over the outcome, should influence the size of the goal and the timespan over which to set that goal.

If you're less patient, set more realistic goals over a shorter period of time.
If you're more patient, you can set bigger goals over a longer period of time.

If you're outcome focused, set more realistic goals.
If you're process focused, you can set bigger goals.

2. The Nature of the Goal

Let’s look at two different goals:

- Run a half marathon on March 28th in under 2 hours.
- Lose 10 lbs by March 28th.

Let’s start with the half marathon goal:

Let’s say that to prepare for the half marathon you will be doing much more running than you are typically accustomed to. And let’s say you want to run this half marathon so that you can say that you’ve done one. And let’s say when the half marathon is over, you plan to cut way back on your running.

This means you want your habits after March 28th to be different from your habits leading up to March 28th.

Now, with the weight loss goal:

Let’s say that to achieve this weight loss goal you want to cook dinner at home more often. Let's also say you want to cut out fast food during the week. And let’s say you want to start exercising 4x a week compared to your 2x a week. And let’s say that you want to build this into your new lifestyle.

This means you want your habits after March 28th to be the same as the habits you’ll do leading up to March 28th.

The difference between these goals is that one is an accomplishment-based goal while the other is a lifestyle change-based goal.

An Accomplishment-Based Goal:
You know your habits before and after the goal will be different, and that's your intention.

For a Lifestyle Change-Based Goal:
You intend for your habits before and after the goal to be the same. 

This should largely influence the size of your goal and therefore your strategy.

Generally speaking, if you are seeking a one time accomplishment, then you don’t need your strategy to be sustainable because you don’t intend to sustain it. For that reason you’re able to set a bigger goal because you have a more aggressive strategy.

With a lifestyle change you want your strategy to be sustainable because you intend to sustain it. For that reason, you might not set as big of a goal because you won’t have as aggressive of a strategy.

3. Your Commitment Level

Example Goal:
Lose 10 lbs by March 28th.

Let’s say two different people have this goal.

And let’s say I ask these two people the same question which is,
“What is one thing you need to do in order to achieve this goal?”

And let’s say both of them answer, “drink less alcohol.”

And then I ask a follow up, “how much less?”

And their responses are as follows:

Person #1:
“I know I need to drink less in order to lose 10 lbs, but at this time of year I know it’s going to be hard. I’m going to a Super Bowl party and I know there’s going to be a lot of alcohol there. And then there’s Valentine’s Day and we’ll probably go out for a few drinks. And then I’m a big St. Patty’s Day person, so I know that’s going to be a fun night. So, it’s going to be hard to drink less but I’ll try.”

Person #2:
“I know I need to drink less in order to lose 10 lbs. And to be honest, I’m so sick and tired of looking and feeling this way, I’m ready to commit. I am not going to drink at all from Sunday - Thursday. I don’t care what’s going on; I don’t care what work happy hours there are; I’m not going to be drinking and that’s final. I’m not going to completely eliminate alcohol, so I will allow it on the weekends. But I’m going to make sure I never drink more than 3 drinks any Friday or Saturday. I’m committed to drinking less; there’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

As you can tell, person #1 has a very different commitment level than person #2. I’m not saying that one person is bad and one person is good, but what I am saying is they should not have the same goal.

Our goals should be correlated with our commitment level.

If our commitment level to change is high, then we can set much loftier goals.

If our commitment level to change is low, then we need to set much more realistic goals.

4. The Behaviors The Goal Requires In Relationship To Your Identity 

This one is a little more complicated.

Example Goal:
Lose 10 lbs by March 28th.

Again, let’s say two different people have this goal.

And let’s say I ask these two people the same question which is,
“How do you feel about your chances to achieve this goal?”

And their responses are as follows:

Person #1:
“I’ve tried to lose weight in the past and it’s been so hard. I’ve just always weighed this much and can’t ever seem to break this plateau. I would love to be able to lose weight but the same things keep getting in the way. I do well eating during the week but then I screw it all up on the weekend. I do well with my fitness but overtime I usually get bored and stop being consistent. I know what I need to do but I just really struggle to do it. I hope this time is different.”

Person #2:
“I’ve tried to lose weight in the past and it’s been so hard. But this time it’s going to be different. I’m ready to stop being the person who makes excuses. I’m ready to create a new identity for myself and a new lifestyle for myself. Eating fast food and pizza on the weekends honestly doesn’t do it for me anymore. I’m ready to make different decisions. My past decisions no longer align with my values moving forward. This time will be different.”

Person #1 is still stuck in their old identity. They believe that their future will probably look the same as their past. The disheartening thing about it is that it probably will until they're able to shed their old identity for a new one. 

But person #2 is ready to step into an upgraded version of themselves. Person #2 has new values in life and is ready to change their habits in alignment with those new values. They are ready to break free from their past self.

Again, I’m not saying that one person is bad and one person is good, but what I am saying is they should not have the same goal.

Our goals should be correlated with our identity.

If our identity is ready to change, then we can set much loftier goals.

If we’re stuck in our old identity, it will take time to break free from it, so we need to set much more realistic goals.

Conclusion

While this blog gives you a great overview of some different factors that should influence your goal setting, it still inevitably does not touch on every possible context.

It's not, "you should set huge goals." It's, "some people sometimes should set huge goals."

And it's not, "you should set realistic goals." It's, "some people sometimes should set realistic goals." 

It’s not black or white. It’s not this or that. It’s always: it depends.

Having coached over 500 people in the 10-Week Transformation these are 4 crucial factors to keep in mind when setting your 2024 goals:

1. Your Personality 
2. The Nature of the Goal
3. Your Commitment Level
4. The Behaviors the Goal Requires in Relationship to your Identity 

Goal setting is not something to be done quickly and taken lightly.

It takes time to set the right goal that is most impactful for you.

Best of luck in 2024 on all of your goals. 

If you’d like assistance in achieving your health and fitness goals, then join the 10-Week Transformation starting January 22nd.

We’ll keep all 4 of these factors in mind, so we have the goal that fits well for you.

To crushing your goals in 2024,

Nick

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Start Your Virtual 10-WT FREE Trial! 

1. Learn the 5 Steps to Goal Success
2. Complete 3 Video Workouts 
3. Learn How to Plan Your PILS

Start Your Virtual 10-WT FREE Trial! 

1. Learn the 5 Steps to Goal Success
2. Complete 3 Video Workouts 
3. Learn How to Plan Your PILS

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