Building on last week, we are going to explore why we want to achieve the goals we set. Let’s bring forward the questions of last week and really explore our answers. Let’s start by considering: What will our goal give us in the here and now while we are working to achieve it? Goals that improve your ability to make decisions for yourself (autonomy) and demonstrate that you can make things happen (agency) build self-esteem and positive self-regard. Does your goal make you feel empowered?

Last week, we used weight loss as an example. This week, we will use paying off debt as the example. For most of us, paying off debt is empowering. Paying off debt has the here and now benefit of budget creation and can signal the start of a process of future building. By setting a budget, you will more deeply understand your finances, which will improve your financial autonomy and agency. Setting a budget today that helps you get where you need to be next week, next month, next year is future building.

Setting a goal that has a clear payoff in the here and now improves motivation and, when working toward that goal gets hard, reminds us why we are sacrificing to achieve the goal. Considering the benefits in the here and now helps us determine whether we are sacrificing too much. Goals that cost more than they give are hard to achieve. Weight loss is a good example: often, to achieve the “standard” 2 pounds-a-week goal (or even a zero-pounds-gained goal), we sacrifice more than the benefit. By considering the here and now benefits, we can explore how we set our expectations. By adding, for example, taking measurements, to the weight loss journey, or (in relation to budgeting) a small gift for ourselves, we can reduce feelings of deprivation and enhance our ability to achieve our goals. By building in positive rewards and milestones, we are better able to understand what our goal gives us in the here and now as well as in the long term. When we benefit in both the here and now and the long term, it is easier to understand how our sacrifices improve our life.