It’s officially time to start working on all the goals we are determined to accomplish this year, right? We all know that things happen, and unforeseen obstacles will occur that may derail you from achieving your goals. That is why it is essential that we set clear attainable goals with actionable steps to achieve those goals to set ourselves up for success! Let’s begin with what goals are and how we should view them.
A goal should be:
* Realistic- Be sure when setting a goal to think, can I do this and to what capacity? Understand the amount of dedication it will require for your goal.
* Measurable- Can you see progress or a change that can be determined? For example, if it is your goal to “to be healthier” how is “healthier” determined?
* Timely- what is the timeline for you to accomplish your goal? Many times, we do not set an end date and thus we end up never actually celebrating or acknowledging the goals accomplishment or its failure.
Short-term goals are sometimes the best because we can see the end results faster and gain a sense of accomplishment sooner. Short-term goals are often one week to one month in time. Let’s say If your goal is to do a 10-minute walk 4 times a week it may only take your body a week or two to get used to this routine.
Medium term goals are anywhere between one to six months. Let’s say your goal is now to run a mile 4 times a week. This will take you a few months to achieve this goal so set a realistic timeline based on your bodies capacity.
Long term goals are the big ones, these are the ones that are 6+ months out and require a lot of dedication to accomplish. Let’s say you want to run your first half marathon. That is something that will require months of hard work and dedication so you will want to give yourself a realistic amount of time to prepare.
So, let’s take a minute and think talk about some of the best ways to set goals.
Steps:
1. Define what you want to accomplish
2. Decide can I measure results from this?
3. How long will it take me to accomplish this goal and is it a short-, medium- or long-term deal?
4. Finally, type, write, etch do whatever you need to do so that you can have your goals hard copied so that you can visually see them and have them in front of you.
What are your goals? Here are a few goals some of the Sweat Ethic team members have set this year…
-Attend a Yoga Class each week
-Go to bed on time for 14 days straight
-Workout 4 days a week for 2 months straight
-Read an entire book each months this year
