The new year is a popular time for setting goals, health and lifestyle improvement, and new beginnings. We believe New Year’s resolutions offer an excellent opportunity to achieve your health and fitness objectives. Goal setting can be a tricky business, so we want to provide you with the tools you need to define, execute, and achieve your goals. Make 2020 your best year ever and bring in the new decade with clear, focused intentions that push you towards a healthier and more fulfilling life.
Establish Your Why
Before you start writing out your goals, you need to start by defining your ‘why’. Popularized by Simon Sinek’s excellent book, Start with Why, the idea of defining your why, or overall purpose in life, is the essential first step in goal setting. What motivates you to succeed? Who do you want to help? What is your purpose in life? What are you truly passionate about? Until you answer questions like these, the goals you set will lack a deeper meaning and you will be less likely to achieve them. Once you have established your why, you can align your goals with the vision for your life and how your goals directly relate to that why.
Write It Down
In modern society seemingly all written documents are stored electronically. Everything from doctor’s chart notes, financial budgets, to the newest book on Kindle are digitized and meant to be read off of a screen. Instead of typing out your goals on a computer or cell phone, take the time to write them down on a piece of paper. There is value in writing your goals down on paper – a paper document is concrete, solid, and cannot be deleted with a stroke of your finger.
Place this piece of paper somewhere you will see it everyday – on your desk at work, attached to the fridge, or take it a step further and tape a laminated copy of your goals on the inside wall of your shower! By seeing your goals in writing EVERYDAY you will be reminded of your goal, your why, and the ultimate purpose for achieving it.
Write Out Action Steps for Each Goal
You can think of this as a to do list for each goal. Make one of these action steps something you can do TOMORROW. Examples of immediate action steps include purchasing a gym membership, cleaning up your resume, cleaning the junk food out of your fridge and cabinets, or calling a job or business lead. Make this first task simple to complete, so you will have zero excuses not to complete the task by the end of the next day. Subsequent action steps can be more complex and time intensive but should still have specific time frames for completion. Giving yourself concrete deadlines will increase the likelihood you complete the action steps and ultimately achieve your goal.
Create Goals that are: SMART
S= Specific:
Your goal needs to be simple and specific. You should be able to answer the following questions: What do I want to accomplish with this goal? Why do I want to accomplish this goal? What are the resources (people, monetary, time, etc.) needed to accomplish this goal? How will I know when I have completed this goal? Once you have answered these questions you will have a clear vision of what you need to do to start on the path towards achieving your goals.
M= Measurable:
Use specific facts, events, or metrics to clearly define your goal. A clear and well-defined goal will better provide you with the blueprint you need to complete it. Instead of making a goal like, ‘I want to lose weight this year’, make a more specific goal such as: ‘I want to lose 10 pounds by March and decrease my body fat percentage by 2-3%.’
A= Attainable:
While it’s okay to shoot for the stars, having practical goals you honestly have the resources to achieve are much more likely to be met. An unrealistic goal may demotivate you because you are asking too much of yourself. Use realistic timeframes. If your goal is going to take some time to complete, don’t give yourself a tight deadline which will ultimately end up stressing you out. Conversely, don’t pick a goal that is overly easy to achieve. Find the sweet spot. You want a goal that will push you hard and motivate you, but not one that is so difficult it will cause stress and decreased confidence in yourself.
R= Relevant:
Make sure your goal aligns with your life and career aspirations. Goals that do not push you towards your why feel empty and are less likely to be achieved. By the time you’ve reached this step you should have already defined your why, and you can make sure your goals and your why are working for each other.
T= Time Bound:
Utilize a time frame and concrete deadlines. As stated earlier, pick an action step to be completed by the end of the day tomorrow. Pick another to be completed by the end of the week. Pick yet another more complex action step to be completed by the end of the month. You can even pick goals that fall into different time frames. Write out a 1 month goal, a 6 month goal, a 1 year goal, a 5 year goal, and a 10 year goal. These goals can be interrelated or entirely separate. Again, make sure these goals align with your why. Your 5 and 10 year goals should be intimately associated with your why because you will have had the most time to plan and execute these monumental goals.
Ask for Help
One of the best resources you have for completing your goals is your family and friends. Let them know what your goals are. Simply telling someone you have a certain goal is a powerful motivational tool. For added accountability, ask a family member or friend to check in with you periodically on the progress on your goal. If you have a career or skill acquisition oriented goal, find a mentor. Mentors can be a valuable asset in achieving your goals as they have likely had similar aspirations for themselves. Most mentors are more than willing to help an individual in their field as it gives them an opportunity to share the information they have worked so hard to learn.
We hope these simple steps help you to define and conquer your goals in the New Year. Make 2020 the best year of your life!
Post written by Dr. Riley Kulm, DC. Check out his bio here.
