Goal setting for people who care about their goals...

Ahh... December 29th. It's that time of year again, where we evaluate the past 12 months and plan for the next 12 months. The problem is, do we really 'plan', or do we just jot down a few pipe dreams with no specific target or plan to get there.

Do we even jot them down? And are your New Years Resolutions in fact recycled from last year?!

Well I want to make sure that this time next year you can be proud of what you've achieved in 2018 and be looking at how you can further progress and grow in 2019 rather than prepare for another failed attempt.

Truth bomb....

Only 8% of people who set New Years Resolutions follow them through and only 23%people who join a gym in January are still visiting regularly in February.

I don't want you to join that group.

So grab a pen and paper and lets do this:

Firstly write down your goals, for now, just keep them relatively loose.

Now I want you, for each of those goals to apply the SMART principle.

Are your goals:

You might want to consider breaking each goal down in to short, medium and long term goals to make them appear more manageable.

Another important principle to goal setting is to be positive and to set goals that make you happy. A goal that makes you miserable will never be achieved. And what's more, it isn't worth achieving!

Consider if your goal can be re-framed or adapted to be more positive.

If you have a sweet tooth and accept that you're eating far too many sweets and biscuits, is cutting out sugar all together a waste of time? Will we simply fail and slip back in to our old ways? Can we consider having a list of alternatives that still satisfy us but also offer nutritional value with the occasional treat, you know, a bit of what you fancy? If you're focused on losing weight, why not switch the focus to improving your health and fitness and increasing your muscle. See the weight loss as a bi-product. It'll still happen but be far less stressful.

I want you to think about the 'why' behind your goals? I believe this to be the most important part... Why do you want to achieve what you want to achieve? How is it going to make your life better? How are you going to feel once you've achieved it?

This may sound cheesy, but close your eyes and imagine as if you've already achieved it, and remember that feeling when things get tough!

Now you've got your goals down on paper, stick it somewhere you can see it every day, and have somebody else hold you accountable!

Finally, don't be afraid to review, reevaluate and adapt your goals as you go along. Things don't always go strictly to plan, and that is OK!! Just be prepared!

As ever, if you want any further advice, get in touch with us through our contact page and one of our coaches will give you a call shortly!