Goal Setting And Expectations
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to achieve a certain goal in order to be happy or satisfied with your life. Goal setting is not a bad idea, as it can help you stay on track and push yourself towards your dreams. However, when expectations are high - especially when they're unrealistic and not attainable - then negative emotions often result. If you go into a task with the expectation that it will be easy, then in many cases the outcome is likely going to be very disappointing.
It's important to find the right balance in goal setting. You definitely need to set goals that are realistic, but you also need to be realistic in how you interpret these goals. It is possible to set goals that are very difficult, but doable and achievable - and if so, then this should be what you are aiming for! If you're only setting high expectations for yourself, then it will likely bring about disappointment and negative emotions.
Basically, this post is about being clear about your expectations of yourself when setting goals.
I think life is too short for us to waste time on things we don't enjoy or that aren't challenging enough. This doesn't mean that everything has to be easy. There will always be some things in life that are easy and some things that are more difficult than others. However, we all need to define our own priorities and values when it comes to how we want to live our lives and what we really want out of it.
The key is not to set expectations that are too high or too low – they need to be realistic. Too low expectations can cause you not to even bother trying something, whereas too high expectations can lead you to failure or disappointment if the thing you've set your sights on turns out not be as easy as you initially thought.
If you want to do well at something, then you need to be prepared to keep putting in the work. You need to see yourself as capable of achieving whatever it is that you're setting your mind to. For example if you want to run a marathon then you need to start running long distance runs.
This is where I think it's important for people not only set specific goals, but also define their expectation when trying to set their goals. We can't expect to make it to the finish line if we don't know what our goals are or what we need to do in order to achieve them.
If you don't define your expectations beforehand, then you'll likely find yourself either failing or not being fully aware of the obstacles that need to be overcome in order for you to succeed. For example, if you're trying to learn a new language like French and English but only set yourself only high expectations - like "I will be fluent by this time next year", then without knowing exactly what your goal is, it's unlikely that you will achieve it because you won't know where or how much work needs to be put in.
The good news is that you can achieve most goals that you set for yourself, even if this means you have to put in a lot of hard work or learn a new subject.
I think the main thing is to know what your goal really is and then work out how you can reach it. For example, if your goal is to get into shape and lose weight, then you'll need to make sure that you're putting in the right amount of effort into making sure you're eating well and exercising.
In terms of setting goals, it's vital that we know what our expectations are as well as knowing exactly how we can achieve them. Otherwise, we'll fall into the habit of setting goals that are too high or too low and in doing so, we'll not be able to achieve them.
I think it's important to remember that there is no such thing as "easy" and "difficult" – if you're doing something that isn't enjoyable, then getting it done will be difficult. With this in mind, I think it's important to find ways to make things more enjoyable or more challenging. This can mean finding ways to make your work in whatever subject you're interested in more enjoyable or making sure that every day you're doing something that will make you feel challenged. If you need to do something that is challenging then it means that it's probably important for you and if this is the case, then set goals accordingly so that they don't seem like impossible tasks.
To sum up, my advice is this:
1) Know what your goal is, even if it's just vague - define specific goals and make them realistic.
2) Put in the time and effort into making sure you're achieving what needs to be achieved.
3) Be realistic in your expectations – you don't need to set yourself up for disappointment by having goals that are unattainable.
4) Be happy with whatever happens.
Obviously setting realistic goals is hugely important, but even if the outcome isn't quite what you wanted or expected, this doesn't mean that it's the end of the world. You can learn from your mistakes and try again without beating yourself up about failing at something.
Also, if you're not achieving your goals either then it means they weren't really specific enough or they were just too difficult.
So to summarise, it is possible to achieve our goals. It's important to know exactly what your goals are, but also remember that even if your expectations aren't quite met, you can learn from this and adjust your plans for the next time.
If you have any thoughts or questions of what I've said so far, then feel free to leave them in the comments below...
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xo. – Risa xo. – Risa
Most teenagers are expected to go to college and get a job after high school graduation, but for me going to college was something that I wasn't exactly sure about. I was actually going into my senior year of high school when I started college, but by the time freshman year had begun, I realized that it wasn't for me. College simply wasn't for me at the time and so I decided not to continue with my education past the required age of 18.
cONCLUSION
I think my main point in this post is that even if your expectations aren't met you can still learn from them and move on to do bigger and better things. Even if you want to do something like go back to college, then you'll probably be able to take what you've learned from not doing it the first time around and apply it the second time around.
So to summarise - if your expectations aren't being met it doesn't mean that they are impossible or that they won't happen for other people. If you're disappointed about something, then it helps to learn from what happened so that next time we can try our best not make the same mistakes again.