TOPIC of DISCUSSION – Setting goals and sticking to them!
There’s something very invigorating about a new beginning. It’s a chance for us to wipe the slate clean, to put everything behind us and start a new year.
In two days time people will be following the age old tradition of setting goals for the new year ahead. So how do you set goals and stick to them?
Make a list
Think about what you really want to achieve. No matter what the goal; job related, fitness, nutrition, relationship. Whatever it is, write everything down that comes to mind.
Organize your list – Be specific and realistic
Being specific but realistic is key. Rather than setting goals such as: “Get better at CrossFit” or “Improve nutrition”. Be more specific and also decide whether you can accomplish it this week, this month, or this year. For example, “Get 10 double unders by the end of January”, or “Eat well Sunday to Friday, with 1 cheat meal on Saturday.” Remember, whatever your goal, you are not just specific but realistic. It’s unlikely you’re going to increase your Backsquat to 180kg in 6 months, when your current 1 rep max is 100kg.
Constant reminders
Write them down and keep them on you at all times, put post-it notes around the house. Your goals should be a constant reminder and motivator. So whether you’re brewing a coffee or waiting in-line at the bank, read over your goals and reflect on them.
Vision board
A vision board is a collection of pictures that represents your goals. The idea behind vision boards is based on the laws of attraction, that we attract into our lives anything that we give attention to. When we visualise we can make it happen. Having artistic ability is not a prerequisite for creating a functional vision board.
Time management
Goals can seem daunting and time consuming, so managing the time you spend on goals can help you complete them.
Give yourself a time cap. Whether it’s five minutes or an hour, when you know you only have to work for a set amount of time, in order to make some progress, it becomes much more likely that you will follow through with the task. The most important part is to just get started on whatever it is.
“Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use”
Reward yourself
Reward yourself for sticking to your goals. If you’ve eating good all week, allow yourself a treat at the weekend. Or if you’ve trained hard at the gym for 3 days, give yourself a well deserved rest day and pamper yourself. If you don’t reward yourself, it will feel like all work and no play.
In life there are obstacles
There may be times when your progress gets disrupted; you get ill, work gets hectic, your relationship hits a rough patch or you’re just having a bad day. None of these have to sidetrack your goal completely! The path to every goal is filled with obstacles. If you accept and anticipate that you will run into obstacles, you can figure out a way around them and keep going.
For example, you decide to follow a better nutrition plan for the new year and a friends birthday meal comes up. You can either, accept it and allow it to be one of the cheat meals for the week, or you can find out the restaurant, check out the menu, and incorporated it into your eating plan. An obstacle is just something we have to get around, or over … it’s not a reason to quit.
Don’t give up!
Most people quit when they are at the doorstep of achieving their goals. As a coach I’ve had many people start a 30 day challenge of eating better, only to have them quit at the halfway point. “If you’re pointed in the right direction to reach success all you need to do is keep walking.”
The meat and potatoes of sticking to your goals is; Remember why your goals are important, be realistic, but don’t be too hard on yourself. There is likely to be set backs, it’s part of the journey, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going!
