The Anatomy of an Unrealistic Goal – The 5 Main Reasons A Goal is Unrealistic
A couple days ago I wrote a post titled What if Your Child Has Unrealistic Goals? Evidently, the title of this post touched a nerve, as several people pushed back on my premise. This isn’t the first time people have disagreed with me, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Although, in this case in particular, I feel the need to go deeper with the concept of unrealistic goals.
The overall sentiment of the disagreement with my previous post on this topic was that there is no such thing as an unrealistic goal. In addition, several people told me that you should never tell a child their goal is unrealistic and instead just show them support and love.
I love this optimistic, “glass half-full” perspective on goals. Furthermore, showing support and love is something I wholeheartedly agree with and would never argue against. With that said, I still believe a goal without a plan is just a wish.
Being an optimist is all well and good when you have a plan, even if it’s a bad plan. But being an optimist when you have no plan is just plain delusional. Additionally, not having a plan is only part of the reason a goal is unrealistic. Below is my full list of the reasons I believe cause a goal to be an unrealistic goal.