You know that burst of motivation you get when you’re sipping coffee, the sun is shining, and you suddenly declare, “This month, I’m going to launch a new project, post content daily, build a community, learn a new skill, AND fix my sleep schedule!”?

Yeah. Me too. Here is a short one to put this common but ever-ignored monster into perspective.

At the beginning of this month, I set up a challenge inspired by Favour Commander . I visited this website futureme.org and created a list of items that I would do by the end of the month.

Shock on me, I only achieved around 40% of the set targets. Feels like failure, right?

This is what happened — somewhere around day 4, reality walked in uninvited. And it didn’t come empty-handed. It brought deadlines and juggling the personal targets with normal work duties, fatigue, unexpected errands, and of course… the Wi-Fi acting up just when I needed it most. Maybe I should tag my ISP.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on a simple but powerful truth: Setting goals without accounting for time, energy, or resources is a fast track to frustration. Yes, I simply set up myself for failure.

I’m speaking from experience here. I’ve set targets that looked good on paper but were completely unrealistic for my actual situation. Whether it was trying to grow three platforms at once, work full-time, stay consistent with my music, and still sleep like a baby — let’s just say… something had to give, and for me, it was having less than 4 hours of sleep for 3 weeks.

This killed my energy, motivation, and sense of progress. Not because the goals were bad — but because the plan didn’t match the reality.

What I’ve learned (the hard way):

• Ambition needs to be in conversation with reality. Your goals should reflect not just where you want to go, but also where you’re starting from, and what you have available.
• Rest is part of the process. Working through exhaustion doesn’t make you a hero; it makes you tired. And being tired makes everything look harder than it really is. Grace Oruitemeka clarifies that in her recent post here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/grace-oruitemeka_selfcare-mentalhealth-restisproductive-activity-7323190940204998658-18ug
• Progress isn’t always loud. Some of your biggest wins will be internal — like deciding to move a deadline instead of burning out trying to meet it.

Here’s the funny part: once I stopped trying to do everything, I actually started getting more done….and feeling better while doing it. Imagine that.

So, to anyone out there feeling behind or overwhelmed because your expectations don’t match your current capacity: you’re not alone. Adjusting doesn’t mean giving up. It means you’re being smart enough to play the long game.

Let’s normalize realistic ambition. Let’s stop confusing burnout with productivity. And let’s give ourselves permission to be human. Toxic resilience does make you a hard worker, you are slowly killing yourself.

Have you ever set wild expectations that came back to humble you? I’d love to hear your story, drop it in the comments. Let’s keep it honest.