In Control Of My Goals.

Hi, my name is Darcy and I am a control freak....and also a bit of a success junkie...and o.k. I'm pretty hard on myself too. Making goals for myself to achieve things in my life is something that I have always done. However, when I do not get the result that I want I tend F R R R R E A K and obsess. I have found that a lot of times, looking back, I make the goal to be the desired outcome. This seems reasonable, right? However, in evaluating the situations I have failed in, some of the things that I have set as my goals, are beyond my control. Then the "failure" in them inevitably produces a downward spiral in me. Here is an example...

If you have been following my Minority Reports at all, you will see that I am in a frustration stand off against my metabolism. I used to make goals like....I am going to lose 10 pounds this month.

Well, my thinking has changed. I can do everything "right" and if I have a scared metabolism from years of harsh behavior, or hit a plateau phase during dieting, or even have lack of knowledge or skill in an area... I can still find that I worked my butt off and came up short. Therefore, failure, in light of my set goal. Therefore, frustration. Therefore, negativity. Therefore, the impending and ceremonial...throwing in of the towel.

An example of one of my old goals would have been to drop at least two pounds a week. First time that doesn't happen. I'm done. I have failed. It's terrible, I know. However, true.

So now...Here's what I do. 

Q   What do I want?         

A   To look like Jillian Micheals O.K. noted exaggeration, realistically lose 30 pounds. Although, I wouldn't mind being Jillian's twin.

Q    What do I need to do?

A     Eat 1500 calories a day, exercise 5 times a week, cut out diet coke, and get 7 hours of sleep a night. 

THOSE things, in general, I can control. It's my part of the process. That is what my focus needs to be. I have the ability to succeed in that. Therefore, that should be my goal. I can not control what I lose each week. 1-2 pounds a week will hopefully be the outcome, once my goals listed above have been achieved. I just need the ability to succeed in my goal setting. 

Make sense? This maybe just the ramblings of an overachiever, but it has freed my thinking up tremendously. It can apply in lots of different areas of my life and it has helped me to let go of control. All I should focus on, is doing the right thing in my daily part of the process. The rest is up to God anyway, isn't it?