The Problem With Goals When You Don’t Know Your Baseline
- Dr. Amber Mason
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Most people don’t fail because they lack goals.
They fail because their goals are disconnected from their current reality.
When someone decides they want to improve their health, the first question they’re usually asked is, “What’s your goal?”
Walk more. Exercise consistently. Lose weight. Feel better.
Goal-setting is treated as the starting line.
But without understanding where you’re starting from, goals often create pressure instead of progress—especially when someone is already dealing with stress, fatigue, pain, or competing demands.
This isn’t a motivation issue. It’s a calibration issue.
Why the Usual Advice Falls Short
Goal-setting is often framed as a motivational tool:
clear goals → stronger commitment → better results.
That logic works in structured environments where capacity is stable and demands are predictable.
Health is rarely that clean.
Research in behavior change and rehabilitation consistently shows that goals only support progress when they align with current capacity. When goals are set above what the body and nervous system can realistically tolerate, they tend to produce the opposite effect:
early overexertion followed by withdrawal
symptom flares that disrupt momentum
inconsistent follow-through
cycles of “starting strong” and stopping
From a systems perspective, this is predictable. The body doesn’t respond to intention—it responds to load.
When goals increase demand without accounting for stress load, recovery, or life context, the system shifts into protection. Motivation drops not because someone “lost discipline,” but because regulation is strained.
This pattern is well-described in stress physiology and rehabilitation literature, where excessive or poorly timed demands increase allostatic load and reduce adaptive capacity.
Research :
McEwen & Stellar – Stress and the Individual: Mechanisms Leading to Disease https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2474765/
Foster et al. – Goal-setting and action planning in rehabilitation: a systematic review https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452223/
The Missing Piece
The missing step isn’t better goals.
It’s baseline awareness.
A baseline is not a number you should be proud of or embarrassed by.It’s a snapshot of what your system can currently manage and recover from.
Baselines include:
physical tolerance
energy availability
stress load
cognitive bandwidth
time and environmental constraints
In rehabilitation and exercise science, baselines are essential because they allow interventions to be dosed appropriately. Too little challenge leads to stagnation. Too much leads to overload.
When goals are set without baselines, people skip this calibration step entirely. They aim for where they want to be, not where they are.
That gap is where many plans quietly break down.
What Actually Helps
Before setting specific goals, most people benefit from learning pacing.
Pacing is not holding back or lowering standards. It’s matching effort to capacity in a way that allows adaptation.
Helpful principles include:
Establish a repeatable baseline before increasing demand
What you can do consistently matters more than what you can do occasionally.
Progress gradually, not optimistically
Enthusiasm is not the same as tolerance.
Use recovery as feedback
How you feel later tells you more than what you did in the moment.
Separate direction from dose
You can know where you’re headed without rushing how fast you get there.
Delay goal precision until capacity stabilizes
This is where SMART goals become useful—after pacing and baselines are established.
Research on pacing strategies shows that aligning activity with current tolerance improves consistency and reduces symptom exacerbation, particularly in populations managing fatigue or fluctuating capacity.
Research :
Nielson et al. – Pacing strategies and symptom management
Optional Tools Section
Instead of setting a goal, try starting with one orienting question:
What level of effort could I repeat on my most challenging day this week?
That answer often provides a more accurate baseline than any timeline or target.
From there, progression becomes measurable and responsive rather than aspirational and rigid.
How I Help
This is a common point where people get stuck.
I help people:
identify their true baseline across movement, stress, and capacity
recognize where goals have outpaced tolerance
apply pacing principles before goal-setting
choose goals that support adaptation instead of triggering overload
The goal isn’t to remove ambition.
It’s to sequence it so progress can actually occur.
In Closing
Goals aren’t the problem.
Timing is.
When goals come after baseline awareness, they support change.
When they come before, they often create friction.
Clarity first.
Precision later.
Standard Consult/Coaching Session
Curious what’s actually keeping you stuck? I offer clarity consults for people who want a calmer, more personalized approach to health, movement, and change. These sessions are designed to help you understand your patterns, reduce overwhelm, and identify what to focus on first—without pressure or judgment. If that sounds supportive, you’re welcome to schedule a consult and see if it’s a good fit.
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