Goal setter or habit former?

ElizabethKalmbach

I find that creating habits takes me a lot farther than setting goals. Usually when I hit a goal, I stop there. When I create a habit and just keep grinding through, I wake up a few months later with the discovery that I left my loose goal in the dust and should have aimed higher anyway. ;-)

bri170lb

Each small goal is a commitment to myself. I am not a competitive person at all but I do feel strongly about keeping my commitments.

I have found the "just for today daily goals" thread invaluable because I don't like to cheat on my promises to myself.

jgnatca

There are good goals and bad goals.



My pet peeve is a goal to lose a set amount of weight by a certain date. First of all, daily weight is not directly under our control, whereas setting up a new habit is. Second of all, what if the goal setter nearly makes goal but misses? Will they feel good about their achievement?

I like setting up weekly or bi-weekly habit change goals, re-evaluate and adjust as necessary. This technique I learned from the Chronic Disease Self Management Program.

My favourite goals these days are all fitness goals. Easy to track and easy to see results. Any weight loss is a side-benefit.