In response:
1. Sometimes goals let us organize things in a way we couldn't. There are books and books on goal-oriented thinking, so I'm not going to wax rhapsodical about it one way or another. Just this: Goals are a method of measuring progress.
2. If a goal is a method by which to measure progress, the more specific the goal, the more accurate the measurement. Specificity in this case means having some numbers in there, and having those numbers be related to something clearly measurable in the real world. Additionally, there should be as few undefined terms in the goal as possible.
For example, having the goal "I will work out for :30 minutes per day" sounds all well and good, but it fails to define the term "work out." So, let's add a clarification to that with "This will include at least 1 mile of running and 15 minutes of weight training." Great, but we've added a few more terms to be defined and some more points to clarify. By using the "at least" modifier, we don't need to add anything about "not limited to," so if I'm feeling particularly revved up by my workout on Tuesday, I can go on for as long as I want to. However, we need to clarify "weight training." "Weight training to be a combination of machine and free weight exercises to target upper- and lower-body muscle groups, such that no two muscle groups are targeted two days in a row, and that all groups are worked out at least twice in a week's cycle."
Because we've been in the details for a while, let's step back and see what our goal looks like now:
"I will work out for :30 minutes per day. This will include at least 1 mile of running and 15 minutes of weight training. Weight training to be a combination of machine and free weight exercises to target upper- and lower-body muscle groups, such that no two muscle groups are targeted two days in a row, and that all groups are worked out at least twice in a week's cycle."
I'm pretty happy with that as a goal. It's nice and specific, without being so restrictive as to be useless or easily ignorable. Additionally, it allows a lot of room for building around and on. Non-adaptive goals encourage a kind of stagnation. Make the goal too big, it's unachievable, and needs to be broken down. Make it too small, and it's unimportant. As an ongoing goal, this one is one which must be met consistently and over time, but it's also fairly small, and thus easily achievable.
Now for the why. Why be so specific with the goal, why be concerned with all the little loopholes? The fewer loopholes there are, the fewer ways to sneak around the goal. But that defies the whole point of a goal, right? If a goal is just a measure for self-achievement, then the language doesn't have to be so precise. However, that's not all a goal is. Once a goal is set down and specific and locked in like this, it becomes a rule rather than just a goal.
I believe that people are fundamentally lazy. Without guidance, goals, rules, or laws, there would be no reason to get up off the couch/out of bed/off the floor and stop watching tv/sleeping/drinking. Perhaps this is cynicism on my part, perhaps it is simply me projecting my own internal laziness onto everyone around me. But, it is the assumption I operate on. Therefore, motivation, whether internal or external, must be captured and solidified into goals and rules when it manifests, or it will escape and we/I will return to the basic lazy state.*
So, that's the first of my goals and the thought process that went along with its creation. It's not my only current goal, or even my largest, but it's my primary fitness goal for the moment. I'm succeeding at it for the moment, and it feels good. Those exercise endorphins really make the difference.
*At some point I may parallel this view with some of the "fundamental barbarism" theories which manifest through a great deal of Chinese philosophy, but that's for a later time.
Now for the why. Why be so specific with the goal, why be concerned with all the little loopholes? The fewer loopholes there are, the fewer ways to sneak around the goal. But that defies the whole point of a goal, right? If a goal is just a measure for self-achievement, then the language doesn't have to be so precise. However, that's not all a goal is. Once a goal is set down and specific and locked in like this, it becomes a rule rather than just a goal.
I believe that people are fundamentally lazy. Without guidance, goals, rules, or laws, there would be no reason to get up off the couch/out of bed/off the floor and stop watching tv/sleeping/drinking. Perhaps this is cynicism on my part, perhaps it is simply me projecting my own internal laziness onto everyone around me. But, it is the assumption I operate on. Therefore, motivation, whether internal or external, must be captured and solidified into goals and rules when it manifests, or it will escape and we/I will return to the basic lazy state.*
So, that's the first of my goals and the thought process that went along with its creation. It's not my only current goal, or even my largest, but it's my primary fitness goal for the moment. I'm succeeding at it for the moment, and it feels good. Those exercise endorphins really make the difference.
*At some point I may parallel this view with some of the "fundamental barbarism" theories which manifest through a great deal of Chinese philosophy, but that's for a later time.
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