Reach Your Full Potential!

What has been your experience with New Year’s Resolutions? Have you actually accomplished them? Or do you realize in February or March that you have completely forgotten about the goals you set? It happens to the best of us. This post is going to give you necessary tools to set effective goals so you can be successful!

First, why is setting and accomplishing goals so important? Goals help you identify areas of yourself that you can improve upon. They help you develop behaviors, habits, and qualities that you wish to have. When you set goals, you give yourself a focus and direction for your life that can lead to greater success and performance. As you work to consistently improve, goals keep you motivated. Most importantly, how are you supposed to measure success and improvement if you don’t have goals keeping you accountable and on track? When you set effective goals and work to achieve them, you give yourself direction that can lead to improvement in your life and wellbeing.

So how do you set goals that will lead to success? Here are seven steps that will help you be successful!

1. Decide what you want to improve or work towards​ Before you can make a goal, you need to decide what you want to improve on. Do you need to drink more water? Exercise more? Reach out to people more? Keep a journal? Eat more vegetables? Get more sleep? Do you want to run a 5k? Whatever it is you decide, it needs to be something that you are motivated to work towards. Goals needs to be S.M.A.R.T meaning they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Can you see the difference between the goals “I want to be healthier” and “I am going to eat vegetables five times a week”? The second one is S.M.A.R.T.

2. Write it down​ Don’t just rely on your memory. When you write it down it becomes more of a goal rather than just a thought or a wish. It might be helpful to keep a journal specifically for your goals to give you a place to track your progress and write your experiences.

3. Tell someone your goal. ​ Telling someone else about your goal allows them to keep you accountable! Tell someone you trust and are comfortable checking in with every once in a while.

4. Break it down into small pieces. ​ Don’t bite off more you can chew. By breaking down a goal into smaller goals and plans you are more likely to achieve it. For example, if you set a goal to run a marathon it is important to set smaller goals or milestones. Set a goal to run 5 days a week, or to run a 5k, 10k, and half marathon. Having smaller supportive goals will help you achieve the larger goal you set.

5. Take action and plan steps you will take. ​ No goal you set, no matter how good it is, will be achieved if you don’t take action. Plan the steps you are going to take to achieve your goal. If you set a goal to eat vegetables every day, what action are you going to take? Are you going to make a grocery list and go to the store today? Take action!

6. Celebrate! ​ Once you achieve your goal, celebrate! Spend some time with friends, go visit your favorite museum, eat at your favorite restaurant, or watch your favorite movie!

7. Set a new goal. ​ Don’t stop there! Once you’ve achieved your goal, decide what you are going to do next. Are you going to keep going and set a new a goal? Maybe you achieved your goal of running a marathon and now want to run another one a little faster. Whatever it is, set a goal that will help you continue to improve.

Some things to remember:

It is not all or nothing! If you mess up a little bit don’t give up! Start again and keep working towards the goal you set. None of us are perfect and odds are you will mess up, but don’t get discouraged. If you find yourself having a hard time sticking to the plans you set, reevaluate and make new ones that will help you achieve your goal. It’s okay to change things up as you go!

Don’t set too many goals at once. It might be tempting to try and work on all your weaknesses at once. Maybe you want to improve your sleep, eating habits, and exercise patterns at the same time. This may seem overwhelming and can cause you to not achieve the results you desire. Instead, choose to work on them one at a time. This will help you see results and stay motivated.

Remember your “WHY” Your motivation to make change has to mean something to you. You will not be successful if your goal is for someone else or if you’ve simply set a goal for an arbitrary reason. Your goal must have a purpose that will keep you moving forward on days that it would be easy to find an excuse to stay in bed or not put in the effort.

You can do this! Set goals that will help you achieve your health and wellness goals! Be consistent and don’t be discouraged. Let others keep you accountable and stay motivated! Reach out to me if you need a resource to help you set and achieve the goals you wish to accomplish. ​ I am here for you and I believe in you. <3