By: Rhea Tomlinson (BMR-PT, BA)
Certified in Acupuncture & Dry Needling
RYT 200 hour
It’s great to set goals and motivations for yourself! Here is the thing, if you want something you can’t just hope it happens without outlining how you are going to get there with specific timelines. Goal setting will allow you to accomplish more, feeling more fulfilled and directed to achieve what you want out of life.
Be realistic with yourself, be specific, measure your progress, make small changes over time, have the end in mind, and review your goals regularly. Read this blog to learn more to help you reach your 2019 goals.
1.Be realistic with your goals and how many you wish to achieve them.
New Year’s resolutions tend to gravitate towards crash diets and exercise regimes that fail over the next 4-6 weeks because they are simply unobtainable. We are not suggesting crash resolutions. You might instead set short and long-term goals over the year to reach a targeted goal. When you set your goal, do you see yourself being able to keep up with it for the next several months to years or even forever? If not, how can you reframe your goal to be more realistic?
Be realistic with how many goals you set. It is OK to have many aspirations, or you may place your time and energy into one area of your life that you want to create change.
2. Be specific. Know what you want and how you are going to get there. Know which area(s) of your life you want to affect. Here is a list where to help you get started:
- health
- personal development
- family/relationships
- financial
- work/business
- fun/self-care
Set clear definitions for your goal. If it is a physical activity goal, how many minutes per day and what do you define as being physically active; moving in general, raising your heart rate to a certain minimum number, completing a designated activity, etc.
Remember by affecting one area of your life you might strongly affect all others. For example, if you work on self-care by taking 1 hour per day for yourself to go to yoga, work out, meditate or read this might increase your mood and well-being and in turn positively affect your health, personal development, family/relationships, and work/business life.
3. Make sure your goal is measurable. How can you measure your goal to know if you have achieved it or not? Maybe you log things on your phone or in a journal. If it is a long-term goal maybe you have a way to track your progress on a monthly basis to ensure you are on track or if the goal needs to be re-evaluated and adjusted.
4. Make small changes over time.
Micro changes over time can make massive long-term changes. Whether it is taking the stairs instead of the elevator, eating a salad once per day, reading a new book every month, or being active for 20 min per day. Start by doing that one action each day and notice where it takes you over the months to years.
5. Have the end in mind. Know the plan once you have obtained your goals and what this will manifest in your life. Don’t just set goals to set them. Know why you want them and what will they do for you and the people around you. If you plan to become a millionaire by age 40, try to envision how you will feel and what you will do once you have reached this goal. How would becoming a millionaire improve your life and well-being? Set a time limit for when you hope to reach your goal by.
6. Don’t forget to review your goals regularly. If you failed at a goal forgive yourself and try to outline why the goal was not successful. How can it be reframed to be more obtainable? Reflect on your failures in the past and how you can learn from them to be more successful and realistic with this new goal. Our failures often become our greatest learning moments so take and improve on it!
Post your goals somewhere you can clearly see them. We have ours on our home office desks. Checking ✔️them off your list is the BEST part! Keep an open mind and release self-doubts as much as possible when working towards your goals. Remember, the only person getting in your way is you and your limiting beliefs.
Give these tips a try and get started on goal setting to improve your overall health & wellness. If you have any questions, please reach out to our amazing Zen team on our contacts page!