Awhile back I read this post from zenhabits. It offers a unique view on goal setting. Essentially Leo recommends letting go of the need to achieve goals and instead do things for the fun of it. How do you feel when you set some goal and then you fail at it? pretty miserable right? Well, if instead of setting a goal to do that thing you decided to do it just for fun then if it didn't work out you don't feel so bad and you can look back at what you did do as being fun. I think this is a pretty good take on goals.
So let me tell you about a couple of goals I have/had this year. You probably remember a few weeks ago where I managed to go nearly a whole week without using the internet at home right? I went in to that goal less determined that I would succeed, but more curious about whether I could do it or not and how it would really impact my life. And when I "failed" at it, I didn't feel too bad, because I learned something about the way that I use internet and I can look back and think that it was an interesting experiment, and one that I would like to do again someday.
The other "for fun" thing I'm doing this year, is just that--it's purely for fun. I haven't bought meat at the grocery store all year. Now let me clarify, what I really mean is that I haven't bought raw chicken or beef. When I first moved to Boston I couldn't really afford to buy meat, and then by the time that I was in a position where I could afford it I was out of the habit of buying it. Now, I have, on several occasions, bought deli ham and I still buy canned meats occasionally and I'll buy things like frozen meals with meat, but so far as I can remember I haven't bought raw chicken or beef from the butcher all year. At this point it's kind of a challenge to see if I can go the whole year without buying it. Lest you worry that I'm not getting enough protein, never free I almost always eat meat when I eat out. But you know, if tomorrow I just had to buy hamburger at the grocery store I would survive and think that it had been a fun 10 months of having not bought meat. And it's just been fun. I've been learning to cook with lots of other things (like tofu, gasp!) and it has been a great way to broaden my horizons. It rarely even occurs to me to buy meat anymore.
I feel like goal setting is all about the way in which you think about it. If you set a goal thinking that it'll be fun to see how it goes then no matter what happens it will be a success.
So let me tell you about a couple of goals I have/had this year. You probably remember a few weeks ago where I managed to go nearly a whole week without using the internet at home right? I went in to that goal less determined that I would succeed, but more curious about whether I could do it or not and how it would really impact my life. And when I "failed" at it, I didn't feel too bad, because I learned something about the way that I use internet and I can look back and think that it was an interesting experiment, and one that I would like to do again someday.
The other "for fun" thing I'm doing this year, is just that--it's purely for fun. I haven't bought meat at the grocery store all year. Now let me clarify, what I really mean is that I haven't bought raw chicken or beef. When I first moved to Boston I couldn't really afford to buy meat, and then by the time that I was in a position where I could afford it I was out of the habit of buying it. Now, I have, on several occasions, bought deli ham and I still buy canned meats occasionally and I'll buy things like frozen meals with meat, but so far as I can remember I haven't bought raw chicken or beef from the butcher all year. At this point it's kind of a challenge to see if I can go the whole year without buying it. Lest you worry that I'm not getting enough protein, never free I almost always eat meat when I eat out. But you know, if tomorrow I just had to buy hamburger at the grocery store I would survive and think that it had been a fun 10 months of having not bought meat. And it's just been fun. I've been learning to cook with lots of other things (like tofu, gasp!) and it has been a great way to broaden my horizons. It rarely even occurs to me to buy meat anymore.
I feel like goal setting is all about the way in which you think about it. If you set a goal thinking that it'll be fun to see how it goes then no matter what happens it will be a success.
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