How to Set Achievable and Realistic Goals

Addiction Recovery Publishing Addiction Recovery March 31, 2025

Realistic goals help motivate people with substance use disorder (SUD) to make essential lifestyle changes during rehabilitation and ongoing recovery. According to the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment, “[G]oal setting is an effective behavior change technique that has the potential to be considered a fundamental component of successful interventions” for SUD. The dedicated experts at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab prepare clients for long-term sobriety by teaching essential life skills and coping mechanisms. Realistic goals allow clients to feel more confident in learning new skills and building healthier routines.

Why Realistic Goal Setting Is Essential to Lasting Recovery

The effects of alcohol or drug addiction change how people respond to rehabilitation programs. Individuals recovering from chronic substance abuse gain hope and motivation by setting realistic, achievable goals during rehab and continuing care. Clinicians collaborate with clients to determine what goals will help them maintain focus and progress in recovery.

Setting realistic goals does the following:

Prevents emotional burnout
Builds confidence
Encourages consistent progress
Fosters self-awareness
Reduces the risk of relapse
Creates a clear roadmap for recovery
Helps people prioritize more effectively
Supports emotional and physical wellness
Strengthens accountability
Builds a strong foundation for a sober future

Setting attainable goals provides structure and flexibility. Individuals in rehabilitation and long-term recovery benefit from having goals to keep them moving forward in their healing journey. Setting achievable goals reduces the risk of individuals developing low self-esteem from not achieving their recovery goals. People increase confidence and self-efficacy by setting realistic goals that align with their needs and values.

The Difference Between Realistic and Unrealistic Goals

Realistic goals have set timelines, consider practical limitations, and involve specifics like the type of activities involved in achieving the desired outcome. Unrealistic goals may be vague, ignore physical or emotional limits, and focus on things outside a person’s control. Learning the difference between realistic and unrealistic goals allows people to set clear expectations for their recovery.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals in Recovery

Short and long-term goals play an essential role in recovery for individuals with SUD. People often break down long-term goals into distinct steps that function as short-term goals. For example, a person with the long-term goal of maintaining sobriety may break it down to the short-term goal of maintaining sobriety for a month. Achievable short and long-term goals keep people motivated and promote personal growth. The experts at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab teach clients how to create goal timelines that set realistic expectations.

Breaking Down Long-Term Goals Into Manageable Steps

Some people struggle to break down long-term goals into manageable steps. A few ways people create practical short-term goals include:

Being mindful of physical or emotional limitations
Setting daily or weekly action steps
Prioritizing the steps of a larger task based on importance
Breaking larger goals into specific categories (e.g., meeting milestones, creating habits, developing skills, etc.)
Making the steps flexible to account for changes in long-term goals

People in recovery benefit from regularly reviewing and refining long-term and short-term goals to ensure they remain relevant and appropriate. Breaking larger goals into distinct steps makes it easier to make changes and monitor overall progress.

Using S.M.A.R.T. Goals to Support Sobriety and Positive Mental Health

S.M.A.R.T. goals are commonly used to ensure that clients in rehabilitation programs have achievable goals to meet their recovery expectations. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. stands for the following:

Specific: A clear, well-defined goal
Measurable: Goals measured with specific criteria (e.g., maintaining abstinence for 3 months)
Achievable: Realistic and attainable goals
Relevant: Goals that align with personal values and objectives
Time-Bound: Goals have a clear time frame (e.g., practicing self-care for 10 minutes each day)

Therapists often use S.M.A.R.T. goals to help clients develop healthy coping skills and routines. Setting attainable goals increases confidence in the recovery process and reduces the risk of relapse.

Perfectionism and Unrealistic Expectations Can Sabotage Your Recovery

Realistic goals should have flexibility. People who have unrealistic expectations and expect perfection may find it challenging to remain motivated long-term. Frequent disappointment from failing to meet unrealistic recovery milestones may cause people to experience emotional burnout.

Some examples of unrealistic expectations in addiction recovery include:

Expecting immediate results
Believing recovery will be fast and require no hard work
Assuming cravings, intrusive thoughts, and triggers will disappear
Believing relapse is impossible
Expecting relationships to heal without any effort
Thinking that peer support and therapy are unnecessary
Believing a single form of treatment will “fix” SUD

Recovery is a journey and requires ongoing commitment to change.

Building Emotional Resilience and Other Skills to Achieve Goals

A person’s self-esteem impacts how confident they feel in their abilities to achieve their goals. Building emotional resilience and other critical skills improves self-esteem and self-worth. According to Psychology Research and Behavior Management, “[S]elf-esteem serves a motivational function that prompts people to take care of themselves and to explore and reach their full potential.”

At Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, clients develop various skills aimed at enhancing self-esteem and emotional resilience, including:

Identifying and challenging negative thought patterns
Building healthy coping strategies
Practicing mindfulness and emotional regulation
Strengthening problem-solving and decision-making skills
Improving communication and interpersonal skills
Building self-discipline and accountability
Fostering compassion and acceptance

Building these skills allows people in recovery to face obstacles without feeling defeated or overwhelmed.

How to Avoid Common Problems With Setting Realistic Goals

Everyone encounters setbacks in recovery that affect their ability to meet specific goals. Some of the most common problems people encounter when attempting to create recovery goals include:

Focusing on unsustainable results
Lacking a clear direction
Not accounting for potential setbacks
Setting vague goals with no specific timeline
Not involving members of support networks
Lack of flexibility
Difficulty remaining motivated

Exclusive Hawaii Rehab teaches clients how to successfully navigate setbacks in recovery by teaching coping strategies and life skills. Clients learn to create realistic goals that take into account common problems they may face in recovery.

Set Realistic Goals That Align With Your Personal Values

Building a healthier future involves making decisions based on personal values, including honesty, self-respect, accountability, and a commitment to personal growth. Setting goals that align with these values does the following:

Creates a strong foundation for future change
Enhances self-confidence and self-worth
Promotes consistent decision-making
Reduces feelings of guilt or self-doubt
Strengthens resilience
Encourages healthier relationships and social connections
Improve mental and emotional health
Increases motivation and commitment to change
Creates a sense of fulfillment

Goals based on personal values hold additional meaning and give people a greater sense of accomplishment.

The Importance of Accountability and Self-Accountability in Achieving Goals

Goals require accountability. Without some form of accountability, people may find it challenging to remain motivated. Individuals in rehabilitation programs are more likely to adhere to treatment guidelines if clinicians, family members, and peers hold them accountable for their choices. According to Patient Preference and Adherence, “Accountability is a tool used frequently in many settings to encourage people to follow a particular course of action.” The experts at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab use accountability to help clients heal. “The accountability inherent in the expectation of a social interaction between a patient and health care provider [. . .] affects patients’ motivation to adhere to treatment.” People in recovery benefit from the additional support of accountability and self-accountability.

Why Your Mindset Matters When Setting Goals

How people think about themselves, their circumstances, and expectations for recovery affects their goals. Rehabilitation programs address mental health through therapy, peer support, and prescription medications. People learn to identify how their thoughts and feelings influence behavior and their ability to achieve recovery goals.

Mindset matters during goal setting because it impacts the following:

Confidence in achieving goals
Resilience during setbacks
Motivation to maintain commitment and consistency
Willingness to make adjustments as needed
Self-belief and inner strength
Desire to seek support and guidance

Positivity helps people avoid falling back into maladaptive behaviors or thought patterns. Individuals in recovery find it easier to maintain progress and focus on achieving goals if they feel positive about themselves and their situation. According to Addiction and Health, “Positive thinking skills training is accomplished by making changes in various fields such as positive thinking about self, others, and life as well as being aware of the effect of positive thought on health and longevity of people, revision of beliefs, changing mental images, positive and constructive relationship with others, knowing how to stop thinking and also relaxation training.” Exclusive Hawaii Rehab ensures clients have the skills to improve positivity and overall mental health.

Tracking Progress While Maintaining Flexibility

Flexibility is essential during recovery from substance abuse. Unexpected stressors and challenges can interfere with recovery and may cause periods where people feel unmotivated or frustrated with their progress.

Individuals in rehabilitation or aftercare can track their progress while maintaining flexibility by doing the following:

Keeping a physical or digital journal to write down daily or weekly successes
Mapping out recovery milestones on an ideal recovery timeline
Regularly assessing feelings to monitor personal growth and make adjustments
Creating weekly intentions instead of concrete goals for greater flexibility
Balancing structure with spontaneity
Scheduling monthly reflective sessions to monitor progress and celebrate successes
Measuring progress by internal growth instead of external success
Reframing setbacks as a learning experience to motivate positive change
Celebrating progress without comparing to others in recovery

Social support is an important aspect of maintaining motivation during recovery. People often feel more confident in navigating challenges and setbacks if they rely on their support network to provide feedback, inspiration, and encouragement.

How to Stay Motivated When Progress Feels Slow

Sometimes, progress feels slow or impossible to maintain. People remain motivated during those periods by doing the following:

Using positive reinforcement
Acknowledging that progress takes longer for some goals
Using realistic timelines
Reflecting on past successes and recovery milestones
Leaning on support systems
Taking breaks when needed

Some people have difficulty trusting the process and continuing to move forward when goals seem just out of reach. However, recovery from SUD is not linear, and it is normal for some goals to take longer or feel more difficult to achieve. People use many strategies to maintain motivation during those challenging moments, including mindfulness and peer support.

Self-Compassion Promotes Growth and Supports Realistic Goals

Chronic substance abuse and mental health disorders affect self-esteem and self-worth. People in rehabilitation learn to identify and replace maladaptive thought patterns and behaviors. Therapy and other support services encourage clients to develop resilience, self-awareness, and positive coping strategies. Setting realistic goals is part of the process of building self-confidence and self-esteem.

Self-compassion promotes healing and personal growth. People are more likely to set achievable and realistic goals if they give themselves grace and practice self-compassion. The addiction and mental health professionals at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab help clients heal and learn to accept themselves and their strengths during rehabilitation. Recognizing strengths and areas that need improvement allows people in recovery to set clear and actionable goals.

How Do Goals Evolve Through Recovery?

Goals evolve as people reach different stages in rehabilitation and ongoing recovery. For example, in the initial stages of rehabilitation, goals focus on detox, abstinence, and establishing a solid support network. As clients heal, their needs and expectations may change.

Once clients transition from rehabilitation programs to aftercare, their goals generally become more focused on practical needs. After completing structured programs, people often focus their goals on finding ways to establish financial stability, repair relationships, and pursue career or educational aspirations. Exclusive Hawaii Rehab provides clients with the tools and resources to achieve these new life goals.

The Role of Therapy in Setting Realistic Goals

Psychotherapy and other forms of therapy play an essential role in helping clients develop the necessary skills to create and meet realistic recovery goals. People use therapy to explore their thoughts, feelings, values, and behaviors.

Setting goals involves determining what needs to change and how to achieve those changes. According to Frontiers in Psychiatry, “Goal planning is widely recognized as an integral component of psychiatric rehabilitation, with evidence suggesting that goal planning facilitates behavioral change.” Exclusive Hawaii Rehab uses therapy to guide clients through the process of developing realistic and achievable recovery goals.

Recognizing When to “Let Go” of an Unrealistic Goal

Some goals are only relevant in specific contexts. If a person’s context changes, they may need to “let go of” or reframe a goal to match their new circumstances. Goals should motivate, and if they no longer inspire or if they cause distress, they may not serve their intended purpose. In those cases, people benefit from making new goals.

People change their goals due to the following:

The goal no longer aligns with their personal values
Some aspects of the goal are causing more harm than good
Needs have evolved, and they have outgrown the goal
The goal is based on external pressures or expectations
They feel trapped rather than motivated by the goal
The goal is motivated by fear

People who let go of no longer necessary or unhealthy goals feel relief instead of failure. The feelings of intense relief confirm that reframing or letting go of the goal was the correct choice.

Creating Effective Goal Setting Habits for Long-Term Recovery

Individuals in rehabilitation programs learn life skills to help them navigate long-term recovery. Aftercare planning provides clients with goals and expectations for continuing care. Clinicians collaborate with clients to determine how best to plan for ongoing sobriety. Tailored care plans ensure clients have specific goals to work toward.

Some effective habits for setting realistic goals include:

Setting achievable goals to build confidence and momentum
Increasing commitment by writing goals down
Setting a realistic timeline
Prioritizing focus by working on a few meaningful goals
Staying flexible and adjusting goals as needed
Building healthy routines to achieve goals

Exclusive Hawaii Rehab encourages clients to develop habits and routines that support long-term recovery goals. People are more likely to maintain positive lifestyle changes if they continue to work toward healthy goals.

Achievable goals allow people to feel motivated without being pressured to meet unrealistic expectations. Many people with substance use disorder struggle to create and stick to goals during early recovery. Changes in the brain caused by chronic substance abuse can make it difficult for people to develop realistic goals. Rehabilitation programs provide clients with the tools and information they need to understand how to set achievable recovery goals. Exclusive Hawaii Rehab uses individual and group therapy to help clients learn essential skills for setting realistic goals. The clinical team collaborates closely with clients and their families to create tailored care plans. To learn more about our programs and support services, call us today at (808) 775-0200.