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Now that the Christmas festivities are over and we well into the new year, everyone’s mind starts turning towards their goals and aspiration for the year. If you are like me, we all start strongly and then, for many varied reasons, things just seem to peter out don’t they? How often have we promised ourselves to lose weight or get fit only for our endeavours to be derailed after a month? In this article we will give some useful hints and tips around setting goals and resolutions and, more importantly, keeping them.
Pick the Right One
There are two important parts of that little title: Right and One! Don’t pick your goal or resolution on the spur of the moment, think about the goal, why do you want to achieve that particular thing? What are the pros and cons? What will the challenges be? How will you overcome them? Why is it important to you above all others? Picking the right resolution, which means most to you is really important as that gives you the incentive to do it. Only pick ONE goal at a time. Yes, there might be many things you want to achieve, but what are the chances of dedicating yourself to several goals at once? Picking one makes things easier for you and you are more likely to succeed.
Be Specific
Quite often we say things like “I want to lose weight” or “I want to be more organised” but they don’t help as they are pretty ambiguous, so you have nothing concrete to aim for. How will you judge success? How do you even decide upon your starting point? Make your goal specific. If, for example, you want to get fit you might want to set a goal like “I want to be able to run 5km by the end of June and 10km by the end of August at an average pace of 5km/hr”.
Be Realistic
Life can get in the way, so any goals that you set have to be realistic around your life and existing challenges. If they aren’t, then you are doomed to failure right from the start. Let’s take the getting fit example. If rather than setting a goal of being able to run 5km at a pace of 5km/hr by the end of June, you set a goal that you want to be able to run a marathon in less than 3 hours by June, would you be able to achieve that? Really? That’s a very fast pace and also a pretty short time to be able to get fit enough to run just over 26 miles. Are you going to be able to give over enough time to train enough to really achieve it in the time? Setting unrealistic goals that your life just can’t support is not going to work.
Break it Down
It can be tempting to just wing it, but setting a clear plan and giving yourself smaller goals is a great way of achieving a successful outcome. Again, using the example of getting fit, start with a training plan. You can use the internet to download training plans like this one. The important thing is to stick to that plan and be patient. Start slowly and build up. You could set intermediate goals. If you’re really unfit just start with being able to run 500m without a break. Set an intermediate goal of wanting to be able to run 500m by the end of January for example. Track your progress using a detailed goal journal, this could well be important as the journey goes on, when you start log where you are right at the beginning and as you progress week by week log where you are.
Be Kind to Yourself
Change is a journey and there will be times when you don’t hit a specific target in the time you allowed yourself or when it all feels a little much to keep going. Remember that you are only human and setbacks are normal. This is where your log comes in. When you feel that you’re failing or simply can’t carry on, look back at where you started and where you are now. You will see progress. Sure, it might not be as much as you wanted or as quickly, but you will be fitter or slimmer or drinking less and you will be able to quantify that. Use that as motivation, take a short break, collect your thoughts and start again. It can be tough, but it is worth it.
Get Support
If at all possible, don’t do it by yourself. Join a group specifically for your type of goal, rope in a friend or family member to join you on the journey or simply talk about your goals with them. The more support you have, the more likely you are to push through those dips in motivation.
Whatever goal or resolution you choose, making sure you are committed to it rather than paying lip service to it, ensuring you have specific goals (which it is OK to miss on occasion without giving up) and having a good support network will help you achieve it.
