Unrealistic Action goals

shauna913

Ok so I have to tell you all that I set myself up for failure ( not on purpose). I listed my action goal as go to the gym 3xs a week. Well I can not do that..I want to do that but my doctor put me on light activity. I keep pulling my back out. I knew that but it was like I was in denial. So I thought I should strive for something to keep me active...so I came up with walking 3xs week.Does anyone else do that as well??? Make your goals too high???

rdtalon

I'm sure that kind of thing happens to everyone, myself included. I determined a couple months ago that I wanted to start running every other day. Then I started getting severe knee joint pain, so I had to stop . On the bright side, I determined to start doing more walking, at least until I lose 30 or 40 pounds, then I could try running more. Have really been keeping up the walking (I like to walk in the nicer malls in my town, all the activity and people watching keeps me interested, and I don't have to worry about the heat or sunburn).

maximumcutie

This is a common problem. It often stems from not having a good self-efficacy (psych term similar to self-esteem) - essential it is about what you think you can accomplish. When you don't think you can achieve something, you set your goals at unrealistic heights so that when you don't reach them, you can say "well, it was really impossible for me to meet that, so I don't feel so bad". You need to change that negative thinking to positive thinking - you can do this, you just gotta do it in a realistic way. You can always start small, with something that you know you can accomplish, and as you see these things happening, hopefully it will increase your confidence that you can accomplish this overall goal, and you'll start setting slightly higher challenges for yourself. Good luck. We're here to support (and challenge) you!