Many of us have attempted goals in life that we weren’t able to achieve, and we have felt “What happened to the goal?” “Do I even care about this goal any longer?” “I started out really strong, but lost the momentum.” I bet you can think of one or more plans or goals you have had that went by the wayside. Possibly you had a goal to lose weight, to save money, or to take a dance class and to learn to Salsa. If you are one of the many of us who experience this, you are not alone, AND we have helpful ways for you to experience greater success meeting your goals!
Let’s take the goal of losing weight. Start by changing the name of your goal. Let’s re-word this goal to something more positive, like: “I want to become more healthy, fit and strong,” or “I want to be a healthy weight for my build.” Losing weight can be broken down into a part of either of these goals, but your weight may not be the main focus of your larger life goal. How we talk about what we want impacts how we think and feel about it. Let’s be positive people!
Your goal also needs to be more specific. For example, instead of simply wanting to lose weight, a more specific goal could be “I want to lose 3 inches off of my waist line,” or “I want to go down 2 dress sizes,” or “I want to fit into my old favorite jeans again.” These are goals that are specific and measurable. You can take measurements at the start of your goal and gauge progress as you go. You also have a specific endpoint, because you will know when you have reached your destination.
Alternately, you may want to choose a goal that is more time-oriented, for example: “I want to work out 3 days a week for the next month.” Not only is this specific and measurable, but in a month you have the opportunity to re-assess your goal and raise the bar or re-set it to something you are more likely to do.
Choose a goal and find a positive way of stating your goal. Write it down and put it in a place you will see every day. Then pick an endpoint and make your goal specific. The more specific and measureable your goal is at the beginning, the more likely you are to accomplish it.
Stay tuned for the next installment of learning how to reach your goals, where we will show you how to make your goals more manageable and attainable.
