Goal Exhaustion™.

I don’t think this requires much explanation, so I’ll try to keep this brief. On a certain lifting forum I frequent, someone asked what causes plateaus. Off the top of my head, I theorized Goal Exhaustion™.

If you pound away at one goal long enough, eventually, whether it be mentally, physically, or emotionally, you’ll get sick of it and stagnant.

In terms of lifting, if you work at only one thing long enough, you’ll stop making progress. Our bodies like variety. If you give it the same stimulus, it’ll find a way to be as efficient as possible with it. This can reach a point of boredom – there’s no more new stimulation! Consider weight loss. If you’re losing a great deal, it’s good to maintain every twenty or thirty pounds, so the body restablishes homeostasis. Moreover, it keeps the body from adapting to the caloric deficit.

I like thinking of the work/play dichotomy. I can only work for so long before my mind goes out the window. I reach goal exhaustion for the moment. My only way around it is to break, then come back to it. During times of extended vacation, I seriously don’t know what to do with myself. That goal of fun just can’t be reached like that! But give me a weekend between heavy exams, and I’ll relax like a pro.

In practical terms, it’s not a matter of just dropping a goal altogether. I like to think of it as putting it on the backburner. Just put something else into the forefront for the moment. Think about everything else in your life. There’s so many ways we can direct our mental energy. If you recognize your efforts are inefficient, try something else!