“Setting goals is the first step in turning invisible into visible”
Tony Robbins – Author, Entrepreneur & Life Coach
Do you have goals?
Do you know where you’re going? With a clear vision of what you want? And a roadmap
of how you’ll get there?
If not, you’re SO not alone (and this week’s blog will help!). Because goals truly are one of
the most powerful weapons you possess, on your nutrition, weight loss & fitness journey.
Not having a goal is a bit like getting in the car & opening Google Maps on your phone.
Knowing you want to get to somewhere – but having NO idea which destination to type in.
Sure, if you just start driving, you’ll end up some place or other. But is that really where you
want to be?
And quite often, people never reach their health and fitness goals because they’re just way
too vague about what they actually want.
There’s been endless studies into goal setting, but evidence suggests that people who
write their goals down are 5-10 times MORE likely to succeed.
Which is h-u-g-e!
And if you truly want to make changes in your life – to your fitness, diet, weight, confidence,
well-being, happiness & everything else – why wouldn’t you give yourself the best chance of
success?
Writing your goals down is free (besides a bit of ink & paper). You can’t get it wrong – your
goals will evolve & change over time. If you screw up, just chuck the page away & start
again. There is (literally) nothing to lose.
But I KNOW the biggest block is often working out what you want. Deciding on what your
goals actually are. And setting them.
So that’s what we’re going to get clear on today!
SMART Goals
I know, I know – you’ve probably heard of SMART goals a million times.
SMART goals are just the start of the process (read on for the full 5 Steps!).
But it’s important. So let’s just remind ourselves how SMART goals work:
- Specific. This about getting super clear on exactly WHAT you want to achieve & WHY
you want it (click here for more about uncovering your real ‘why’!) {hyperlink to relevant
blog post}
Example: “I want to lose weight” (non-specific) vs “I want to lose 10lbs, so I will feel
confident to get in the pool with the kids instead of watching from the side” (specific!).
- Measurable. How will you know once you’ve reached your goal? What does success
look like for you? You need some way of measuring your goal, so you’ll know once
you’ve achieved it.
Example: “I want to start running” vs “I will complete my first 5km fun run by March”
(measuring success!).
- Actionable. What action to you need to take, to make the goal happen? This is where
you then start to break down the behaviours you need, to help you reach the goal
that you want to achieve.
Example: “This week, I will do 3 x 20 minutes running sessions. I will walk as fast as I can; run
for 30 second periods & increase the run:walk ratio by 2 minutes each time!”
- Realistic. How likely are you to achieve this goal? Ideally, you want at least a 90%
chance of success. If it’s less than that, maybe we need to extend the timeline or
break it down into smaller, manageable chunks. Goals need to be big enough to
inspire you – but not SO big that they paralyse you and stop you taking action!
Example: “I am going to run a marathon in 6 months & raise $20,000 for charity”. Do you
have a 90% change of completing that marathon? Or is the marathon & fundraising your big,
inspiring 18-month goal – and your 3-to-6-month smaller goals are 2 x 5k runs; 2 x 10km
runs and so on?
- Time Sensitive. When will you achieve this by? This creates a sense of urgency and
will help you break it down into smaller tasks (again, going back to the marathon
example!).
And here’s your 5 Steps to Master Your Health Goals:
Step 1 – Decide on your SMART goals & write them down.
Whatever goals you choose, make sure they are important to you & have a strong ‘why’
driving them.
Let’s say your goal is “I want to lose 10lb before my holiday in June”.
This is specific; measurable (by weighing yourself); actionable (what are you going to do /
eat?); realistic; and time sensitive (by June).
This is, however, an outcome goal. And while there’s nothing wrong with an outcome goal,
we rarely have control over outcomes.
What we DO have control over is our behaviours.
So in order to achieve your 10lb weight loss by June, what behaviours will you undertake to
move towards it? ‘Eat slowly and Mindfully’ every day? This can be measured through a
habit tracker – what does slowly mean to you? If you normally wolf your lunch down in 2
minutes flat, then eating slowly could mean taking 10 minutes and setting a timer on your
phone.
Either way, the more specific & realistic you can be, the better!
Step 2 – Make sure you set ‘Go’ goals not ‘stop’ goals.
For example – “I’m going to eat 5 portions of fruit & veg every day”, rather than “I’ll stop
eating chocolate”.
This is a BIG one. Because when you create rules around what you shouldn’t do, you just
increase your desire for those things!
It’s why most diets ultimately fail – and there’s NO point in setting yourself up to fail.
It’s a bit like wanting to down a bottle of wine at the end of dry January. Or scoff an entire
chocolate cake at the end of a sugar cleanse.
So choosing ‘go’ goals rather than ‘stop’ goals makes a lot of sense.
Step 3 – Focus on mastery over performance.
Often, people set performance goals that again they may not have control over. Like “I will
win a 10km race”.
You can’t control the conditions on the day. You can’t control who else enters that race
(what if you’re running against professional runners? Or super-fit athletes, who’ve been
running for 20 years?).
So instead, focus on your own mastery & completing the race in a time that beats your own
personal best, instead of measuring your performance against others.
Step 4 – Take Inspired action.
I love this phrase – inspired action!
Because now you have a plan, this is THE most important step.
You must take action toward your goals.
Hopefully, setting your goals has helped you feel motivated. But if you’re sitting around
waiting for motivation to show up, here’s the thing – it won’t.
Please don’t think you are the only person sitting around not feeling like it! Our brain
doesn’t want to let us do anything that’s out for the ordinary for us. It doesn’t want you to
break free from your current habit loops. It doesn’t want you to go through any discomfort.
Like this morning. Do you think I wanted to leave my comfy, warm bed & go for a run?
Because I didn’t. Would I prefer to eat the chocolate cake at the kid’s birthday party, rather
than the apple in my bag? Absolutely!
Just remember these things will always be harder at first, because our brain is always
screaming at us to get back into our comfort zone.
But when you just start taking action towards your goals & start seeing the progress you’re
making, it gets SO much easier to stay motivated!
Step 5 – Accountability.
Tell someone about your goals.
This is SO important for your success.
Because if you keep them secret, your goals are far too easy to ignore or forget about.
Even better – get a coach and pay them money!
I’m not just saying this because I am a coach (honest!) but I’ve seen it for myself, over & over
again.
When I’m given free advice, I rarely act on it. Why would you? It’s free! You’ve got nothing to
lose.
But when I’ve got skin in the game and I’ve paid for it, I hang on every word someone says.
It’s the same in business – when I’ve given my services for free, people are far less likely to
act on them. It’s about making that commitment to yourself & making an investment that
you don’t want to lose.
And your Bonus Step 6 – Celebrate your Wins!
Don’t forget to celebrate when you achieve your goals – however tiny your wins might
seem!
Please don’t dismiss this. It’s an important step.
Like when I achieve my next milestone goal, I’m going to celebrate by buying myself a Ted
Baker dress.
And before the dress has its first outing, I’ll set myself a new goal and keep pushing forward.
Goals are made to be smashed. But they can also be re-evaluated and re-assessed – and in
fact, they should be.
Because in reality, there’s no end to your journey! There’s no limit to what you can have,
how you can live & everything you can achieve.
And I’d truly love to help YOU reach your goals this year.
Don’t forget to come & join our (free) Facebook group. We’re a community of like-minded
women, on our health & fitness journeys together & we’d love to welcome you in.
And for a chat about how I can help you reach YOUR goals, here’s how you can reach me.
Here’s to your huge success & smashing your goals!
Until next time
Fran x