Krestel

Goal setting should be something you have total control over. I was thinking about this the other day. Weight loss is not something we have total control over, but eating a certain number of calories or exercising a number of times per week is.

I realized this when I was thinking about how my students set goals for getting better grades. Getting the grade they want is only partially within their power. So if they don't get the better grade they worked towards, then the positive behaviour they have formed will be seen as useless even if it's going to eventually get them to their goal.

We've all played these games, but I think many times our goal setting misses the point. Choose something we have control over and measure ourselves that way rather than using something that can at times seem arbitrary.