Life has a way of throwing curveballs so while setting goals is absolutely the way to achieve whatever you are aiming for; flexibility and focus are the keys to achievement. Set your goals in reality. Saying you are going to go from sitting on the couch to running a marathon in two weeks is just not realistic. However, saying you will start walking daily is.
Large goals need to be incremental. Start walking daily for two weeks and when that goal is achieved, reevaluate. Maybe your big goal has changed or you realize what you really want is just to get healthy. Then your goal may change to walking 30 minutes a day or jogging daily. Set a realistic goal that you know you can achieve. Bite off one piece at a time, and if your original goal is still something you want to aim for, then achieve the little goals and before you know it that marathon isn’t so daunting.
Flexibility is also key. You need to live your life and unexpected things happen. You may want to take a vacation or your muscles may scream at you to slow down a few days. Adjustments may need to be made without feeling like you failed. Look at the goal and maybe it takes four weeks before you start jogging. THAT’s OK! Keep to the spirit of the goal and know you are still focused and moving forward towards it.
Believe you can, know yourself, and you will get where you want to go.