Challenges to Long-term Change Efforts - a 3 Part Look at Goals for Long Term Change. Part 1: Short Term Goals vs. Long Term Goals

Chances are, anyone who comes to therapy is hoping for something to be different. The end-goal is different for every person who engages the process but one common experience many (if not most) people have is how difficult it can be to move toward the change that we want. Navigating barriers arising between Point A and Point B can be some of the scariest, most frustrating, most difficult and also most important areas of potential transformation. Below are just a few barriers that are fairly common.  

Short Term Goals get in the way of Long Term Goals

Commonly, what we want here-and-now is very different than what we visualize one year, three years or five years in the future. We might really want to build up healthy eating styles, a new exercise routine or another new skill or way of being. We really want to make the change, and be the person who we fantasize about being. In lived reality, after a long day of work maybe it sounds better and more manageable to watch TV or scroll on socials than it feels to go to the gym or do exercise at home or maybe going to the grocery store didn’t quite fit into the plan of the week and DoorDash feels more accessible.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy introduces the idea of a dialectic - the reality that two or more, even seemingly opposite, things can be true at the same time. I want to go to the gym and I want to sit and relax; I want to eat healthier and I want to eat ice cream for dinner. Bringing attention to the dialectics in our lives can help us negotiate between our short-term and long-term goals. It helps us to bring attention and awareness to the moment we have conflicting desires, and can also introduce a possible path forward. It is in the act of bringing awareness to the competing goals as they internally arise and the type of negotiation I do. Maybe I’m exhausted and exercise will give me a little energy. Maybe I have to order DoorDash and can choose a healthier option.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series: It's Probably Not Laziness.

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Jon Wisdom, LCSW received his Master of Social Work degree, specializing in Trauma and Violence, from Boston University in a dual-degree program where he also received a Master of Divinity. Previously he worked as an interfaith hospital chaplain and holds a masters degree in Spiritual Care. Jon has pursued this integrated learning with the hope of working with queer individuals with religious trauma. As a queer man, he knows this is a complex issue that requires a lot of existential exploration which can be personally challenging.

In practice, Jon prioritizes affirming and patient-centered care. He uses modalities such as Phase Oriented Trauma Treatment, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), narrative approaches, psychodynamics and operates with an anti-oppression framework. His goal as a therapist is to provide space for his clients to come as they are and for them to know that they have inherent worth and value.

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