From Fear to Fit: Understanding the Reasons Why People Avoid Setting Fitness Goals

Many of us have heard the saying, "Set goals and go after them with all you've got." But for some, the idea of setting goals can be met with skepticism and a lack of belief in the power of goal setting. So, why is this? Fear plays a big role in our refusal to set goals.

Setting Goals Requires Courage

We may fear rejection and judgement from our peers or people we look up to. We may also fear being told, "That's unrealistic, it will never happen, you can't do that!" But it's essential to realize that people will always have opinions, but it's up to us to not let their doubts, fears and limitations hold us back from achieving our goals.

Setting Goals Requires a Desire for More

We may be afraid that setting goals is an indication that we are dissatisfied with our lives. But the truth is, desiring more, or wanting to make changes, doesn't mean that we are ungrateful for what we have or not proud of what we've accomplished. It means that we are willing to push ourselves, to test and raise our limits, and to move forward.

Setting Goals Means Reckoning with the Unknown

A lack of clarity can be overwhelming. We often delude ourselves into thinking we know more than we do and we insulate our ignorance with assumptions about how things work, what might be best, or we defer to the things we find familiar. But setting goals means being open to new possibilities and being willing to navigate the unknown.

Setting Goals Means Accepting the Possibility of Failure

We know that practice is how we improve, but the specters of the past can haunt our willingness to try new things - to challenge our assumptions, and wade through the shame or embarrassment that we've experienced before when we tried something big and failed. But accepting the possibility of failure is a natural part of the learning process and setting goals means being willing to accept it.

Setting Goals Means Taking on the Responsibility of Maintaining Success

We often think of goals as something we can achieve and move on from, but the reality is that long-term changes can be difficult to sustain. We may sabotage ourselves before reaching a tipping point and we may avoid the newfound stress and added responsibility by simply missing the mark by enough to slide back into our comfort zones.

Overcoming Fear

All of these fears can compound on one another and lead to anything from skepticism and disbelief to outright inaction. But it's important to remember that we are more than capable of achieving our goals despite fear. And it is by overcoming those fears that we learn to welcome failure as a natural part of the learning process. The truest mark of success is a fearless pursuit in the mastery of failure.

What are you afraid of?

- Leco