Goal Anxiety

I have heard of many people having goal anxiety. What happens is a person sets a goal and focuses too much on the form rather than the execution. The emphasis—and subsequent worry—is placed on the wording, the sentence structure, the tense, and a date of completion. Every word is over analyzed. And each morning the goal is revised or refactored. This endless tweaking and goal-setting perfectionism distracts and delays what is most important: doing the damn thing.

A goal is merely a sign post—they are like trail markers that point you to the summit. You only need to pay attention to the markers when you feel a bit off course or if you need to be reminded which direction you are going. Other than that, obsessing over a goal would be like obsessing over a trail marker. Silly, right?

Goals will orient you in the desired direction, but they can’t do the heavy lifting that’s needed to get to the summit. I recommend focusing on your standards. What are the set of standards that you need to live by to achieve your goal?

Once you have your standards set, behave and act in accordance with your standards. Hold yourself accountable to your standards. Eventually, living by your standards will sculpt you into the character who is in alignment with the desired goal.

In other words, you will become the person capable of having the goal. The “new you” goes with the goal; they just make sense together.