Have you or someone you know ever over-trained and did not get the training results they set out for? Have you over indulge in various areas of life such as this past holiday season and now have regrets? Similar to the annual New Year’s Resolutions…We often over-reach goals without a well thought out plan and set ourselves up for failure. That said, you do want dynamic and challenging goals. This time, why not start with making S.M.A.R.T goals and get ready to achieve!
Specific: You must be specific if you want to reach your goal. Let’s say your goal is to lose weight so you can run faster or longer by eating healthier. That’s great, but how are you going to get there and why do you want to do this? By simply stating that you want the end result is too vague and has no clear direction and are less likely to be successful. For example, you have decided you are going to try eating more vegetables. Great. What does more mean? Is more eating a few peas on your plate? You need to be specific.
“I will eat 4 servings of vegetables daily”.
Measureable: Being able to measure your goals will help you see your progress. If you want to eat more vegetables, indicate how much and when. Keep a check list or journal so you can see how you did each day. Regardless of your goal, track your progress.
“For the next week I am going to include a Green smoothie smoothie at breakfast that includes 1 serving of leafy green, a serving of veggies at lunch, and 2 servings at supper”.
Attainable: We often tend to set multiple goals at once which can become overwhelming and leads to frustration with multiple goals unachieved. Keep your goals small and ask yourself how you can achieve this goal successfully while challenged at the same time.
Realistic: Setting unrealistic goals can often be discouraging. Look at your goal and ask yourself if this is something that you can achieve based on your workload and schedule. If you’re planning on exercising more, do you have the time for it? Are you someone that likes to eat fruits and vegetables? It is important to set a goal that you have a realistic chance at achieving it.
Time frame: Setting a specific time frame will help you keep focused and motivated to complete your goal. Set a target date for completion. AND don’t worry if you haven’t fully reached your goal. Stating a time frame will allow you to assess what worked and what didn’t work and then can go through the steps again to overcome those exact barriers. The barriers may not go away…but you will be ready for them!
In the end, it comes down to having a plan, being prepared and executing your plan with action. Be detailed, be specific, and tell everyone. Small short term goals can still be dynamic! And they help us get to the large goal.
Here is to a happy, healthy and extremely successful New Year!
