Setting goals is an important part of achieving what we want to accomplish in our personal lives.
Goals can be placed within five separate domains of life: intellectual (mental), physical, social, spiritual, or emotional. Most individuals have multiple goals they would like to achieve in each domain.
What setting goals allows us to do is to create an actionable list of steps leading us to attain our final goal.
These steps are a goal within themselves, habits per se, that when completed in a timely and measured way, will lead to bigger accomplishments.
Put in an easy to understand way, in order to reach goals, use the SMART goals technique.
S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Realistic
T Timely
When planning goals be very specific. Do you want to achieve this goal in 2 weeks? A month? A year?
Be specific in the actual goal. For example; Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight within 30 days” say, “I want to lose 10 lbs and gain more lean muscle mass within the next 30 days”. This makes the goal more specific.
By saying you want to lose 10 lbs in a month, it also makes the goal measurable.
You could check your weight weekly to make sure you are on track. It helps when measuring your goals to be able to see progress on the way to the actual goal line.
By making sure a goal is attainable, you have to make it something you can actually accomplish. Can you accomplish losing 10 lbs in a month? Probably. Can a 150 lb person lose 45 lbs in a month?Unlikely even in an unhealthy manner. Make sure your goal is attainable.
Be realistic. Now that we know a goal is attainable, make sure you are being realistic. If your goal is to lose weight and gain muscle, the picture you have of yourself is probably not going to be of you becoming a body builder in a months' time. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. Goals are good to have but they are by no means a miracle tool. You have to put in the work to get results. That is why we use smaller tools and goals to get to where we want to go.
Make the goal timely. Have a set date that you would like to have the goal met by. Leaving it open-ended gives you permission to make your goal into a 'should'. “I 'should' go to the gym today”, or “I 'should' eat this apple instead of this bag of chips”. With goals that have a deadline, your shoulds become musts. “I 'must' go to the gym today if I want to meet my goal”, and “I 'must' eat this apple instead of chips if I want to meet my goal”.
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
The most important thing to obtaining a goal is to create systems that will allow change to be easier.
For example, if your goal is to lose weight and gain muscle, make small changes in your daily life.
Lay your gym clothes by the bed in the morning.
Don't keep chocolate, chips and ice cream in the house to tempt you.
Create an alarm on your phone every hour to take 1000 to 1500 steps.
These little habits or small daily goals will make it easier to reach your bigger goals.
Remember to be SMART when making a list of your goals.
And start now!
Stay safe out there kids!
XO Jenn
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