At the start of every year we all hear about New Year's resolutions and getting back into fitness or eating better etc. Often, a lot of us create some goals for ourselves and the first few weeks go great, but eventually you start to fall off the bandwagon.
Setting goals is an amazing thing to do and can be extremely beneficial in helping you achieve what you want to.
So, how can you create goals that are sustainable and achievable?
Well, it's simple really, you just want to be S.M.A.R.T.!
S- SPECIFIC
M- MEASURABLE
A- ATTAINABLE
R- REALISTIC/RELEVANT (for you!!!)
T- TIME BOUND
Setting goals using this framework.
It's proven to increase the likelihood of you achieving your goals and is fairly simple to navigate. For example, if you would like to start an exercise program and do not currently exercise, setting a goal to exercise for 1 hour, 7 days a week is probably not achievable. However, setting a goal using S.M.A.R.T: I will participate in online HIIT classes 3 days a week for 1 hour for the month of January, is likely to be much more achievable! It was specific in what I would like to do (online HIIT classes), measurable (I can track if I workout for 45 minutes, 3 days a week for the month of January), attainable (the increase in activity is not so drastic from my current level that it would be unrealistic to obtain), realistic/relevant (it is something I feel passionate about and can carve out around 3 hours a week to do), time-bound (4 weeks of January).
Staying on track of your goals.
Now that we have gone through goal setting, how about staying on track? My answer is twofold: weekly check in’s and having a supportive person holding you accountable. Set up a weekly check in time whenever it makes sense for you, for example, Sunday night before bed. Reflect on how you did on your goal(s) the past week and plan how you will achieve your goal in the upcoming week, like planning when your workouts will be and blocking that time off in your calendar.
Not being able to attain your goals.
If you aren’t staying on track with your goal(s) due to legitimate reasons and not just because you were too lazy, don’t be afraid to adjust them slightly to make them more achievable. Such as, changing the workouts from 1 hour to 30 minutes if you find that finding time to workout for an hour is not possible at the moment. In addition, having someone who has the same goal as you or who can help hold you accountable does wonders. It helps keep you motivated and get through those tough moments when you need that extra push! Now, let's get goal setting!!
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