Perfectionism Lie: "Your Goal Should Be Bigger"

While reading the book, Finish, by Jon Acuff, he presented this lie that perfectionists tell themselves when it comes to goal setting.

Perfectionism Lie: "Your goal should be bigger."

He then presented this

Truth: We often "overestimate what we can accomplish in a set period of time."

Dreams and visualizing are great ways to "see" where we want to go. But when it comes to working towards those dreams, we need to set goals that are specific and measurable. Often times we set time limits and dates that hinder our progress on these goals. If we don't accomplish our goal by a specific time, perfectionism tells us 'we are not good enough so we should just quit.' This is a lie.

Remember we are fighting perfectionism here. Acuff helps us fight the battle of perfectionism by giving us two ways to help us continue on the goal path.

First, he states, we can "cut your goal in half". We do not need to change our goal, simply cut it in half. If we want to read 50 books in a year, cut the goal to 25 books. If we want to exercise 3-5 days a week, start with 2-3 days.

The second strategy he gives is to "give yourself more time". Take the time you think it will take you to complete your goal and double it! If you want to save $2000 is six months, double the time to a year. If you want to organize your whole house in 2 weekends, give yourself 4 weekends to do it.

By allowing more time or simplifying the goal, we create a simpler time frame that is more doable. We fight the perfectionist in us to do more by simplifying.

What goal are you going to cut in half or double?