Are my goals reasonable?

By: Bayou Trésors ​Staff

Have you recently set a life-changing goal? If you have, that’s admirable!
According to Psychology Today, when we want to change some major aspect of our lives, “the simple act of setting a goal makes it more likely that we will reach it.”
So, it’s healthy to set goals, these targets are the precursors to positive life changes.

But what if you find yourself setting goals that end up collecting dust? And every time you recall one such missed target you feel like a failure? If you find this happening in your life, rest assured that you are NOT a failure. What you might need to do is reassess the size of your goals.
For example, think of your favorite food.
For me, it’s strawberry cheesecake.
Every time I sit down to eat a slice of cheesecake, I’m so excited I don’t know what to do with myself.
You might feel the same way when you’re poised to eat one of your favorite foods.
But suppose I try to eat the ENTIRE slice of cheesecake in one bite? Will I be successful?
No. I will end up looking like a cheesecake covered mess, and that’s if I don’t end up choking to death.
You probably get the point I’m attempting to make.

I know that I can eat cheesecake, but I can’t eat too much all at once. The same principle applies to life and goals. Even if it’s something you love, you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up making a mess of things and feeling bad about yourself.
It’s much better to set reasonable, achievable goals. 

But how does one do this? The Psychology Today article mentioned at the outset of this article suggests the following steps:

• Create a list of major goals.
• Break each goal down into smaller steps.
• Brainstorm how you’ll overcome potential obstacles to your goals.
• Be kind to yourself as you work to achieve your goals.

So, perhaps your ultimate goal is to open a bakery. That’s an incredible goal, and you can definitely see it to fruition. To do so, you might break it down into smaller steps.
For example, you might begin by using Google to research ‘How to Start a Bakery.’ That would be step one. You could give yourself one week to carry out the research. The next step might be to speak with a person who owns a bakery and ask them what they did to open the business. You can give yourself another week to accomplish that goal. After that, you might use your research to create a business plan, which will likely take two or three weeks. Notice that you’re giving yourself plenty of time to accomplish each of the small steps that will lead to your ultimate goal. This way, you’re not overwhelming yourself with too many tasks.

Setting reasonable goals may be a slow process, but sometimes ‘slower yet persistent’ is better. In fact, it may be exactly what’s necessary to achieve major life-changing dreams.  ​