Why Do I Seem to Have So Many Reading Goals but Rarely Any Personal Goals?

Sometimes it is good to ask yourself why.  I’ve been asking myself why a lot at the end of 2018 with starting my mindfit therapy. Mostly why does this trigger me?

A question that came to mind in January was regarding my reading goals. I seem to enjoy really making my yearly reading goals. I can’t wait to start them. To start over. To try and work towards something. So why is that I don’t feel similiar about personal goals?

Also I am clearly talking about reading goals here. Not book buying bans. Those are what I consider personal goals haha.

Focus and Concrete

Reading is something that is very present in my life as you might have guessed already. As such I enjoy spending time on it. Whether that is through reading itself, the blog or these reading goals. The reading goals help me focus. I have in writing, on paper, what I want to do. It is also very easy to make these goals concrete.  I tick of the boxes. I complete or I don’t complete. The end.

One of the things I struggle with is the focus on personal goals. They also aren’t quite as concrete or as easy to achieve as reading goals. It isn’t just ticking a box.

Personal

While reading goals are personal they aren’t personal as that they reflect directly onto your personality or your own flaws. So they are less confrontational.

Personal goals are as the name suggests personal. They often have to do with growth and things you want to improve on yourself. Eating better. Quit smoking. Lose weight and so on. They are confrontational because it tends to be an up and down kind of road. It isn’t easy.  And sometimes we don’t even really know how we can get somewhere though we put it as a goal. It can make the goal a struggle throughout the year. Or it might be a goal you end up forgetting.

But in the end you have to confront yourself if you want to better oneself.

Avoidance

But I don’t. I avoid. That is what came up during my therapy in 2018. I avoid things because confronting emotions, previous experiences and my own (previous) failure I perceive as too hard. Now this is obviously something I have been working on. I’m getting better at it. But it is also one of the reasons why I don’t make personal goals. It is too confrontational so I avoid by not making them.

I also avoid by making these reading goals because they are a distraction. Like reading is a distraction. A way to hide away in a world, I hide away in being busy with my reading goals throughout the year.

This isn’t to say that personal goals is a must at the new year or at all. I just wanted to see why I do one over the other so reoccuringly. This doesn’t mean that I am going to start personal goals now. Insights however are important.

How are you with personal goals?

 

An extra question to you all. Every year I do a book shelf tour and this year I’d like to start that off with any questions you might have regarding my shelves and the books I own. Please fill in any questions here. You can totally leave it as a anonymous question.