November 3, 2019: Goal Setting 101
My weekly Get Your Stuff Together Sunday email series gives you one actionable focus for the week that will make your life a little easier.
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We all have a vision of how we want to look, feel, and act. Maybe you wish you were one of those yoga ladies who walks around with a green juice. Maybe you dream of crossing the finish line at a 5k, 10k, or even a marathon! Your vision for your healthy self is as individual as you are. This week, we’re going to talk about why you should be setting goals and how to do it.
Writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” But, we need to take those dreams and visions and get really specific about how to turn them into reality.
Setting Your Vision
Ask yourself these questions...and take the time to write down your answers:
What do you want to achieve? Be specific.
Why do you want to achieve this goal?
What does success mean to you?
How might your daily life change?
What is standing in your way? Where do you struggle the most in trying to reach this version of you? What might require some extra planning and self-TLC?
What needs to change about your attitude, environment, support system, lifestyle, finances to get you where you want to be?
What demotivates or derails you?
What is the hardest part of staying on the path to success for you?
If you had the perfect life for reaching your goal, what would be different than your current situation?
What could be done to make this easier and remove obstacles standing in the way of your motivation and ultimate success? Who can help you? What can you do to make things smoother?
Why haven’t you changed or succeeded in long term change in the past?
Setting Your Goals
When you begin to piece together your goals and plan, be both kind to yourself and realistic. The method that is most effective for goal setting is the SMART framework. SMART stands for specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound. Those elements come together to make goals that can be planned and measured and, therefore, lead to success. The more your goals follow this recipe for success, the easier they will be to plan, the clearer you’ll be on your progress or need to change things up, and the more motivated you will be since you know what you need to do to be successful.
For each goal, write a one to two sentence strategy. Keep it concise and, well, strategic! Imagine that you’ve handed the strategy to someone without context. Could they create a plan to execute the strategy from just what you’ve given them?
After writing a strategy for each goal, list out specific things you’ll do to achieve that goal. These are your tactics. Think of everything you can do to execute your strategy. How can you remove obstacles and barriers from your life to make way for goal attainment?
Making Your Plan
Once you have your goals, strategies, and tactics, it’s time to plan. To be successful and efficient in achieving your goals, you need to figure out how your new tactics will fit in with your daily routine. What needs to change for you to do these tactics? Are there things you need to buy? Space you need to make? Schedule shuffling to do? How can you most easily and seamlessly incorporate these tactics into your current life?
This may take you a while to complete. Take your time and be thorough and detailed. Planning out your path to success now, while you’re motivated, will save you from difficult and tempting situations, setbacks, and, let’s be honest, a little laziness, in the future.
Next Sunday, we’ll talk about some healthy holiday tips for the upcoming holiday season.
Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.
Do you have a friend who could stand to G(her)ST? Feel free to forward this!
I hope you have a wonderful week,
Kelly
Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.
Tsirona - www.tsirona.com
My weekly GYSTS email give you one actionable thing to do for the week that will make you life a little easier. As "they" say, "Fail to plan; plan to fail." Get these emails (and more!) delivered right to your inbox by clicking HERE.