“A goal is a dream that we make come true”
Setting goals is so important when you want to change your behavior. When you are ready to take action, setting your goals is the first step and they can be set for anything in your life, health, fitness, weight loss, career, financial etc.
It is important to always work towards a goal, a challenging but realistic goal. Setting goals will keep you motivated and encouraged, just make sure that they are realistic and achievable.
It is a good idea to set both short term goals as well as medium and long-term goals. Your goals whether they are short term or long term, they need to be SMART.
SMART goals help improve achievement and success. A SMART goal clarifies exactly what is expected and the measures used to determine if the goal is achieved and successfully completed.
What do we mean by S.M.A.R.T goals?
S.M.A.R.T. means that your goals are trackable and relevant, that there are enough resources to achieve them and a firm deadline is set.
S Specific
M Measurable
A Achievable
R Realistic
T Time based
Examples of SMART goals:
Specific: You have identified exactly how much weight you would like to lose eg. 4kg and identified what dress size you would like to be (reduce from a size 16 to a size 14).
Measurable: You can measure your progress by monitoring your weight with the help of scales, or clothes or a measure tape.
Achievable: Your goal is to drop a dress size and losing 4kg in 2 months. As that’s a rate of around 0.5 kg per week, it should be achievable.
Realistic: If you choose a weight loss of let’s say 0.5kg per week, which requires an energy deficit of around 500 kcal (or 250 kcal from diet and additional 250 kcal from activity) per day. This is a realistic and safe body fat loss goal.
Time based: You want to lose 4 kg in 2 months starting on the 1st of January – 1st of March. Your deadline is the 1st of March.
Evidence shows that people, who set S.M.A.R.T. goals, record them and then evaluate and re-set them, are far more successful in the long-term at achieving and maintaining their targets.
Small changes lead to achieving big goals…
Examples of small changes: Always make sure they are SMART.
Activity: Park further away and walk to the car or take the stairs at work instead of the lift.
Fluid and Dietary intake: Drink more water or eat a fruit with your lunch every day. To make it SMART, be specific: I am going to drink 8 glasses of water and eat 2 fruits every day this week.
Timing of meals: Have a healthy snack in the afternoon so you don’t over-eat at dinner. Eat breakfast at 9am in the office or on the go instead of skipping breakfast all-together if you are pressed for time in the morning.
Cooking methods: Use a cooking spray instead of butter or oil, grill or bake the food in the oven instead of frying.
Plan your success with a goals journal…
Statistics show people who write down their goals have over an 80% higher success rate of achieving them.
Studies have also shown that only three to five percent of people in the world have written goals.
There is a lot of power in writing down your goals, you basically need to plan your success so go get yourself a goals journal, write your goals down, make sure that they are SMART. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited.
Create a plan made of small achievable steps to move you forward in the right direction. Make sure there are timelines.
Write down your reason for wanting to achieve this goal. How will it make you feel to achieve it? What difference will it make for you and your life?
Write with passion and energy.
Visualize what it is like having achieved your goal. Visualize you are living it- taste it, feel it, see it, revel in it.
Use your journal daily, write down your thoughts, your emotions, your barriers, possible solutions/alternatives, daily successes, and your gratitude’s.
Replace negative self-talk/ beliefs with uplifting life-enhancing ones. Know that you are the creator of your thoughts and beliefs, Choose positive thoughts rather than negative.
Write encouraging and motivating notes to yourself
Review your goals daily and write down one step you can take today to come closer to your goal, make your goal a priority.
Celebrate your successes. Set up small milestones in your journey, and when you reach them, celebrate!
This week’s action step: Think of one thing that you will want to achieve and then set your goals and create an action plan to start making it happen and remember…
Small changes lead to achieving big goals…
Comments