What Are the Dangers of Setting Unrealistic Goals and Expectations?

We talk a lot in betting about setting realistic goals and expectations as a sports bettor, but one thing we do not talk about as often is why it is so important to do so.  What are some of the things that can go wrong if we set out with expectations and goals which are too lofty to achieve?  What are the dangers in aiming too high?  Can you really be too ambitious?

It is all good and well to say, “I am going to become a millionaire next year by betting on sports!”  It sounds like a laudable goal, and it may (for the time being) make you feel good about yourself.  Goals like these cause problems however.  Consider the following pitfalls:

• A goal like this one provides you with no clear pathway toward reaching it.  Really, what you need are a number of short-term goals which lead you to your long-term goal.  Of course, here you are defining your long-term goal as a short-term one, which is if you think about it, makes no sense.  You cannot simply jump from A to Z, you have to go from A to B to C and so on.  Since this goal does not lead you in that fashion, it will take you nowhere.

• It becomes likelier you will be taken in by scammers.  There are a lot of them out there selling systems that do not work, picks that are too good to be true, even supposedly infallible “locks.”  When you believe that you can make an unrealistic amount of money unrealistically fast, you are far more likely to believe these sales pitches and throw your money away.

• You may make foolish choices.  These could include spreading yourself way too thin, taking more bets than you can afford, quitting your day job, and any number of other mistakes.  These decisions will only lead you further away from your goal.

• Even if you are actually making progress toward your goals, you may feel you are failing.  After all, you are now six or nine months into your betting career, and you are nowhere near making the amount of money you set out toward.  Even if you are actually doing pretty good, you may convince yourself that you are not.  This may lead you to get so discouraged you simply give up.  As absurd as it may sound, it happens quite a lot.

There is nothing wrong with ambition.  You should be ambitious—but you should temper your ambition with cold, hard reality.  It takes a great deal of time and effort to become a great sports punter.  Even when you do, your win percentage will probably be around 55-57%.  Unless you start out with a huge bankroll, it will take a long time at that rate to work your way up to a high income, even if you are taking a lot of bets.  This is why you need to learn patience as much as ambition.  It is the only way to make the smart choices and develop the grit that you need to persevere and succeed!