Goal Setting

I think the main issue with resolutions is that many of us feel pressure to overhaul our whole lives overnight.We promise ourselves we will eat better, move more, be more organised and so on. Unfortunately, this approach rarely breeds success and hence many of us are left feeling deflated and demotivated. If this is you then don’t throw in the towel just yet, try and remember that it’s what you do going forward that matters..

Keep checking in and asking yourself if what you are doing now is setting you up to do amazing things in three, six, or even 12 months. Here are my top five tips to help get you started:

Set SMART goals:

Specific
Avoid vague goals like “I will eat healthier” and aim for clear, measurable ones like “I will cook one new healthy dish a week”. These are much more achievable because you know what you are aiming towards.

Measurable
Make sure to measure your degree of success. If your goal is simply to “get stronger” how will you know when you have been successful? Instead try “I will be able to deadlift Xkg” that way you know you will have actually achieved something and will be motivated to continue.

Achievable
Set goals that are realistic yet challenging, the ones that require you to “raise the bar” are the ones that will bring you the greatest personal satisfaction. I used to set massive goals; this was when I was a professional athlete and those goals were very achievable. Now my fitness goals are far more modest and achievable to where I am in life but they are important nonetheless.

Relevant
Make sure your goals are aligned with the direction you want your life to take.

Timed
Put an expiry date on your goals to help you stay on track. This is not to pressure you; it is simply to make you more likely to succeed.

Write them down
When it comes to achieving your goals, motivation is key and by writing down why a particular goal is valuable and important to you, you are stating your intention and setting things in motion.

Make them visible
We all have moments where we start to doubt ourselves and lose confidence in our ability to make those goals happen. To combat this, post your goals in visible places to remind yourself every day of what it is you intend to do. Find where works for you, put them on your bedroom walls, bathroom mirror or keep them on your phone so you can check it whenever you need a quick boost to stay on track.

Sharing is caring
Sharing your goals can be really valuable as it helps to keep you accountable when you want to give up and means you have someone to support you.

Create an action plan
Break your SMART goals down into the individual steps needed to achieve them. Being able to cross each one off as you complete it means you can clearly see that you are making progress and it’s these small wins that will see you through.