Goals

Thanks for the helpful suggestion with goal setting in response to my plea for help the yesterday. I think the idea of setting more controllable goals is a good one, and one that works for most people. The whole goal setting/attaining & perfectionism are all bound up together for me. That makes even those more controllable goals difficult for me.

For instance, I'll set a goal to exercise three times a week. Seems reasonable and sane. Somehow, though it morphs from being a goal to the minimum acceptable standard. Meeting the goal of exercising three times a week is not good enough. I must exercise 5 times a week because that has to be better. Exercising three times a week is no longer good enough. I create a vicious cycle. In time, I beat myself up to attain something that is virtually impossible. The same thing with counting calories.  If eating 1400 is good, eating 1200 would be even better.  The next thing I know, I'm trying to stay under 1000.  I'm calling it perfectionism.  Maybe it isn't.  Maybe it is something beyond perfectionism, since I always have to be just a little bit better. 

I've been working on the perfectionism. I've been allowing myself 'error' and not mentally berating myself over it. Maybe it is time to try again. Instead of a goal to exercise so many times, or eat a minimum number of calories or carbs, my goal will be to give myself a break. I haven't decided quite yet what that will be, but maybe my goal will be to exercise only three times per week. It seems counterproductive, so I'm not sure. I'll give it some thought. Any ideas?