Muscle for Life

There are many different schools of thought on how to set goals. Some swear by the SMART goal-setting paradigm. Others rely on affirmations, meditation, or journaling. And others kibosh goal-setting altogether and simply focus on envisioning a better future, hoping their thoughts transmogrify into reality. If you’ve played with any of these approaches, though, you’ve probably noticed that they tend to go nowhere fast. You keep reviewing your SMART goals, telling yourself to think positive, filling page after page of your diary, or chipping away at a few choice habits, but after a few weeks or months, you lose heart. Many people chalk up their failure to a lack of discipline, determination, or motivation, and while these can be factors, their biggest mistake lies in putting their faith in faulty, facile goal-setting systems. Most of the goal-setting models I just described have merit, but they also tend to be incomplete or ineffective when put to the acid test. Like a map without a compass, they help you feel