Examples: I should never say I'm going to read every book on the bookshelf in my room. I should never say I am going to bake every bread recipe in The Bread Bible. I should never say that I am going to do at least ten minutes of yoga everyday.
Know why?
I never do it. Ever.
The books? I've read several, but when I got to one that I didn't enjoy, I remembered that I couldn't read it the first time because it was so God-awful-boring, so I sat it aside. So now I've cleared the first shelf of the books that I will never read, and I donated them. I decided that I read for pleasure, not as a chore, so I'm not going to waste my time reading unenjoyable crap, even if it would make me smarter or better informed. I think that's a good decision, but I feel bad about not meeting that lofty goal I set.
The bread recipes? I now refuse to make anything with sesame, and I don't make anything with molasses. I also refuse to buy specialty ingredients if I know there is nothing else that they can be used for in the foreseeable future. It's just wasteful. Again, I stand by the decision, but there's another goal down the crapper.
The yoga? Sometimes I just don't want to do it. Usually it's because I'm wearing jeans and I don't want to change clothes, and I know how lazy that sounds. I can't really get behind this lack of goal attainment, but at least I'm honest. Right?
So now I catch myself saying that I'm going to do things, and I tell myself to chill out and not be so hard on myself and just enjoy life more, but that doesn't sound at all like me. Then I mop something.
I've found that setting more easily attainable goals is better. Meaning, I can set goals in steps. Then I feel more accomplished. The end goal may still be huge and lofty, but each step is more manageable. I'm also trying to remind myself that at the end of every day, the only things that matter are my family and friends and our collective health. It doesn't matter if I've baked a new bread recipe or cleaned out my closets.
What about you? Do you achieve your lofty goals? Or do you set more manageable ones?
2 comments:
I have this same issue. All the time. If you want, I can give you a list of all the things I have NOT managed to do, but it's too long for this comment.
But! There are so many things you HAVE DONE - so many people whose bellies you've filled and so many times you've made your kids happy and so many times you've had fun with and supported people you've loved. The other stuff that you don't get to? Usually doesn't matter as much.
I think it's still good to set those goals. Just don't be so hard on yourself if you don't achieve them.
Exactly what Leslie said. My list of unattained goals is pretty big, too. It happens. But there will be so many other things you do finish. And look at how many bread recipes you made before you stopped. That's waaaayyy more bread recipes than I've ever made. And you've jumped out of a plane. So, you're pretty much a rockstar any way you look at it!
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