Why Do People Set Mini Goals?
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It's all about incentive and positive re-inforcement.
Think about it this way, if you wanted to run a full marathon (26 miles) and you've never run EVER before it's incredibly easy to feel discouraged and like a failure. Why? Because it takes a long time to get up to that level. Each an every day you go out and run it's just consistently reminded that you AREN'T running a full marathon yet. The more negative an experience the less motivation you have to keep going.
Instead setting smaller goals encourages you to continue and gives you a constant stream of positive reinforcement.
Example:
I want to run 1 mile!
I want to run 3 miles!
I want to run 5 miles!
I want to run 10 miles!
I want to run 15 miles!
I want to run 20 miles!
I want to run 25 miles!
Marathon!
You can slowly check off each little goal as you go along and feel positive and happy that you've made such significant progress towards your ultimate goal.
I actually apply this method to almost everything in my life including business goals, housekeeping goals, etc. Breaking these up into not only daily, but weekly, monthly, etc. let's us know we're on track to that bigger better thing we're working towards.0 -
For me, meeting a mini goal is a continual motivator. If my only goal was to fit into size 10 jeans comfortably, it would take more than a year. When I make a mini goal, I can accomplish it in a reasonable amount of time and celebrate my victories. A mini goal for me isn't always about my weight. In fact, it rarely is. It can be as small as drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day for an entire month or as lofty as doing a 205 pound dead lift.0
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I have a final goal, but, although I don't have too much to lose (10/15kg), I set 6 mini-goals because I buy myself a book every time I reach a mini-goal.
I only read e-books or listen to audiobooks, because I move often and it's better if I don't possess too many things. But I'm really motivated to reach my mini goals so that I can buy the books!0 -
Mini goals are also helpful for people who are trying to do a full lifestyle overhaul. Going gung-ho all at once on grocery shopping differently, prepping different meals than the norm, working out on a set schedule, starting to use a food scale, logging all your food, maybe choosing to pack daily lunches, ect.... It's a lot to tackle in one swoop!
Sometimes too much change too fast can be bad. Breaking it up into pieces (mini goals) can help the transition.0 -
Positive reinforcement makes it easier to stick with a long-term process.0
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Like other's have said, I have mini goals because it seemed overwhelming to lose 95 lbs. So I broke it down into 10% goals, each on getting slightly smaller as my weight decreased. I reward myself when I reach one of these goals. I also have some moments I'm proud off, like getting below 200 lbs, halfway to goal. My next one is a BMI no longer in the obese range. I'm 5 lbs away from that. All just to keep me motivated. I also think it's important to set achievable, realistic goals. While my ultimate goal is to lose 95 lbs, starting out at 240 lbs that doesn't seem realistic or achievable. Mini goals made it more manageable.0
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Setting smaller goals makes it easier for me. Yes, the big goal is in mind, but celebrating the small steps gives me encouragement and helps keep me going. There are a lot of people that do it for the same reason.0
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When I started it was way too overwhelming to think of how far I had to go, so I set mini goals - many of them silly. I wanted to weigh less than my drivers license said I did, I wanted to weigh less than my husband, I wanted to be able to buy pants without having to go to the plus size store, etc., etc. It worked - I knew what the ultimate goal was (sorta, it changed as I got closer), but having the little mini goals helped break it down and keep me focused.0
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I set mini-goals because the thought of losing 150 pounds was just too overwhelming to contemplate. It is much easier and more motivating to focus on losing 5, 10 or 25 pounds at a time with lots of successful milestones. It will probably take me 2 years to reach my ultimate goal, which IS in the middle of my healthy BMI range. For any type of large task in life, it is usually recommended to set min-goals or milestones to break it into smaller achievable steps.
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I don't set them. They just happen. Goals are really just stuff you want. So yeah, I want to be thin. I don't know the final number and won't know until I get there. Right now, I want to see that digit in the tens spot change to the next number down.
I want to be thin and wear thin people clothes, but I don't know what number that size will be. Right now, I want to get into a size 8. That's the next step.
The end goals are less clear. I cannot snap my fingers and make them happen. I have to take it step by step. The stuff I want right now - the next step - those are my immediate goals. That's what I'm working on. Every step of the journey is an important one to reach.
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Because I celebrate progress, not just perfection 0
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I've blogged about the importance of intermediate goals a couple times.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/in-it-for-the-long-haul-focus-722409
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/jgnatca/view/setting-goals-715717
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CoffeeNCardio wrote: »I have both mini-goals which I celebrate and a final goal. I don't change the goals in MFP to show my mini goal, just the end-all-be-all goal, but I have the mini's marked in my calendar. One is the weight I'd like to be by our anniversary. Another is Christmas, another is my birthday in February, and then final goal. So I don't pick a poundage per say, but I have an idea where I'd really be happy to find myself by certain milestones in my life.
Yes, this is how I approached it.
I also had mini goals for various fitness things -- run a 10K, bike 50 miles, stuff like that.0 -
PeachyCarol wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »When I run seven miles, I try not to take the first step thinking, "Oh, Zod, save me, seven miles is so far." I know where the first mile is. I try to get there. Woot, made it, 14.3% done. I know where the second mile is. I try to get there. Woot, made it, 28.6% done. And so on.
I'd imagine that mini goals for weight loss work similarly.
I do the exact same thing when I run. Except I can't run that far yet.
I do this too, sometimes. More often when swimming laps or running on the treadmill or a race (my outdoor training runs tend to be enjoyable for me). Back when my main swimming was just laps and not drills and could be super boring I'd be constantly doing division -- 1/50th done, 2%,! 1/25 done, 4%!, so on. Plus, it was the only way I could avoid losing count entirely.
As for ultimate goal weight, I'm well within the healthy range based on BMI, and I still don't know what my final number will end up being, so I don't really think setting a final goal matters that much. I did, since I'd been at a weight I liked as an adult, and have sense revised it a tiny bit, but I care more about how I look and BF% than the number on the scale, of course.0 -
I set an end of month weight goal at the start of the month. Generally its a 5kg loss. I generally achieve my goal sometimes by 1-2kg. It helps keep me motivated.0
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jennifer_417 wrote: »Positive reinforcement makes it easier to stick with a long-term process.
This is my reason in a nutshell. If I can succeed at losing 10% of my body weight, I can succeed at losing 50 lb. If I can succeed at that, I can succeed at losing half of the weight I want to lose. And ever onward until I reach my final goal.0 -
Same reason you run through every colour in the rainbow before getting a black belt, really.
This isn't true for every dojo. I only went through a white belt and a brown belt before I got to shodan. Others I know only wore a white belt until they got to black belt. Still others go through all of those colors.
Interestingly this still kind of applies to the OP's topic. The choice of how many belt colors/goals one needs to experience and celebrate before reaching their end goal* is really up to the individual, or as in the case of a martial art, up to the dojo cho.
*Actually for a serious martial artist the first degree black belt does not mark an end goal but a new beginning. It is the point at which the student has earned the right to become a member of the ojo rather than a guest, and so is at the point that they can truly begin to learn the art.
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I find that mini-goals are a good way to see your progress and nice little milestones to celebrate along the way. If I had a really large amount of weight to lose and only concentrated on the end goal, I would probably go insane. But those mini-goals would really help me keep my sanity.0
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bcalvanese wrote: »just wondering.
Why not just set your goal to somewhere in the middle of your healthy weight range?
For me personally I don't set mini weight goals, I have 100-130 pounds to lose to hit a healthy weight, thats alot and it may be more manageable and I may change my mind later on... But right now I"m setting weekly goals in relations to my eating and working out and just checking and weighing in as I see my doctors (and since I see them every month or so , sometimes more sometimes less) hopefully the weight loss will be a nice surprise. And working on my diet and exercise feels better than constantly battling the scale. But that is just me.0 -
So wouldn't weekly goals be mini goals?
Just as s black belt is seen asas new beginning in karate, reaching one's "final" weight goal is a new beginning on maintenance and a lifetime of health and fitness growth.0 -
I feel less overwhelmed thinking about the short term.0
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I set mini goals for all aspects of my life, not just weight loss. When I have a big work project I break it up into chunks. When I go for a 5 mile run I will go to the end of the song before slowing down. I can't imagine NOT breaking things up into manageable pieces.0
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I started at 228 and had to set goals to keep myself motivated.
Original goal was 160, so my first mini goal was to be under 200. Then to be considered "overweight" and not "obese".
Then i got to 160 and felt I wasn't done, so I went for "healthy" weight. Now I'm at 149 and am going for 130-135.
Goals change, big or small.
And if exercise is a big part of the weight loss process, setting fitness goals can also be very inspirational. Started at a 15 minute mile, am now at 8 minutes.
Also strength goals- trained hard and finally managed to complete my first pull up about 2 months ago. Now im doing 5 sets of 6-8.
Gotta keep busy or else you risk becoming a bit to cozy and could fall off the wagon.0 -
As someone who has 100 lbs to lose, having those smaller rewards makes it a lot easier and fell less overwhelming. I personally have it to where I will reward myself with something for every 20 lbs I lose - that's a lot closer than 100 lbs. If that all makes sense?0
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Many mini goals has worked for me. MFP shows a long term goal and that is not fixed, because I haven't been at a healthy weight since 1999; even then I wanted to have less fat and more muscle. Some of my goals are measured in pounds, some measured in inches, and some are measured by blood tests which translate to taking less medication.0
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I don't do mini goals. I have one goal. To reach my target weight of 155 pounds and to maintain it for AT LEAST two years (exception being if I gain muscle while still losing body fat). I won't celebrate a single thing until that time. This is a supposed to be a lifestyle change. A permanent one. I don't want to know what people did to reach their goals. I want to know how people LIVE who have already reached their goal weight and maintained it for x number of years.
I haven't been to the gym in over two months. I only started hiking two weeks ago (because I love it, not because I want to lose weight) and I dance once a week (for the same reasons). I have a desk job and spend a majority of my free time during the week sitting on my bum and playing video games or reading books. I don't use a food scale, don't log my foods every day, and I think my highest streak on this website was 7 days. Despite all that, I am still losing weight. I am simply aware (through trial and error) of how many calories I consume vs. how many I burn. And I know that if I can lose weight when I am not active at all, then I can definitely lose weight when I am exercising.
If you need motivation to want to return your body to a healthy state, that is a problem in my opinion (asking for help is a different matter). What happens when you get sick? When you are depressed? When you injure yourself and can't exercise? When you can't access this site for support? When LIFE happens? What happens after you reach your goal? Why is the "maintaining weight" forum only 114 pages or so, yet the "weight loss" one over 6,000?
This isn't an attack on anyone personally or even an angry post, it's just something I am noticing from reading the countless threads on here and it troubles me. I feel like the mindset that many people have on here is all wrong.
Nothing makes me more sad than to see someone lose all of their weight and reach their goal, and then gain it all back again.0 -
_Justinian_ wrote: »I don't do mini goals. I have one goal. To reach my target weight of 155 pounds and to maintain it for AT LEAST two years (exception being if I gain muscle while still losing body fat). I won't celebrate a single thing until that time. This is a supposed to be a lifestyle change. A permanent one. I don't want to know what people did to reach their goals. I want to know how people LIVE who have already reached their goal weight and maintained it for x number of years.
I haven't been to the gym in over two months. I only started hiking two weeks ago (because I love it, not because I want to lose weight) and I dance once a week (for the same reasons). I have a desk job and spend a majority of my free time during the week sitting on my bum and playing video games or reading books. I don't use a food scale, don't log my foods every day, and I think my highest streak on this website was 7 days. Despite all that, I am still losing weight. I am simply aware (through trial and error) of how many calories I consume vs. how many I burn. And I know that if I can lose weight when I am not active at all, then I can definitely lose weight when I am exercising.
If you need motivation to want to return your body to a healthy state, that is a problem in my opinion (asking for help is a different matter). What happens when you get sick? When you are depressed? When you injure yourself and can't exercise? When you can't access this site for support? When LIFE happens? What happens after you reach your goal? Why is the "maintaining weight" forum only 114 pages or so, yet the "weight loss" one over 6,000?
This isn't an attack on anyone personally or even an angry post, it's just something I am noticing from reading the countless threads on here and it troubles me. I feel like the mindset that many people have on here is all wrong.
Nothing makes me more sad than to see someone lose all of their weight and reach their goal, and then gain it all back again.
Dude..... I felt like you shoulda been rocking some Eye of the Tiger during this speech/rant0 -
If you can't wear your charge I'd suggest you get a much cheaper, smaller and less intrusive zip or one ...they do the same thing without the misleading HR information and will get you used to upping your activity
My dad actually gifted it to me. One night the charging contacts burned me and once it had healed I tried wearing it again with the contacts covered, but the material of the band gave me a rash. Thought it might be a one-off, so I cleaned it with peroxide and made sure it stayed dry. Got the rash again. It now sits on my table between my knitting needles and my odds-and-ends kit. I make sure I track my walks with MapMyFitness and that's all I've done so far.
Why not pay it forward and hand it on to someone who would benefit from it, sell it on Craigslist or trade it on Craigslist for one you might actually be able use (provided there's nothing actually wrong with it that is)
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BurnWithBarn2015 wrote: »Maybe so they dont get discouraged? So maybe over see things better ( overwhelmed or impressed by it all)
A lady here in the community does it in steps too. And every goal is a party for her... i love it. As long as it works for people
For me i just said i am going to lose the excess weight. Had to set a goal weight (145 lbs) but it is just a number...
At this point searching for maintaining level and still not really interested in the goal weight..i see it more as a range.
My goal was healthy and fit as possible for a "senior" woman lol
And at this point i am exactly where i wanted. Feeling good/happy/fitter and healthier
Still a work in progress but that is with a whole other purpose/goal in mind.
I'm so happy for you. Congrats on your success!0 -
_Justinian_ wrote: »...Why is the "maintaining weight" forum only 114 pages or so, yet the "weight loss" one over 6,000?...
Because it hasn't existed as long. Our maintenance posts used to be in the general forum, so they are part of the 6,000.0
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