TRANSCRIPT:
Hi! Today I am going to share with you a few tricks on setting effective goals. Why we always fail at our new year’s resolutions is because we don’t set goals. We just say that we will do something vaguely and we forget about it by February.
If you really want to achieve something and be really proud of, then listen up.
Goals are extremely important. People set goals for many reasons and in my industry, goals are the main reason why people engage me as their coach. To set a goal, we must first have a PURPOSE. A goal without purpose is useless. Without a reason to do something, we are unmotivated, with no sense of urgency. Finding your purpose can help you craft a suitable goal for yourself.
How do we craft a goal? A SMART goal must have the following qualities:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Attainable
R- Realistic
T- Time based
Don’t make vague goals such as I will start to eat healthier, or I will start exercising or I want to lose weight. Make your goals SPECIFIC. For example, let’s say you are overweight and you want to exercise. Instead of saying “I will start exercising”, say “I will walk as my main form of exercise”. That is being specific. Now, it does not mean that you will ONLY WALK as exercise. You can do others like strength training, but a majority of your exercise will come from walking.
Next, we need to make it MEASURABLE. Your goal then should become, “I will walk as my main form of exercise for 30 minutes, 4 times a week”. In order for the goal to work, it has to be ATTAINABLE and REALISTIC. You shouldn’t say that you will cycle if you don’t have a bicycle. Nor should you say that you will run instead of walk if you are not fit enough.
Finally, it has to be TIME BASED. Now, your goal should become “I will walk as my main form of exercise for 30 minutes, 4 times a week from January till June”. Now, that is a SMART goal.
Moving on, we need to establish BIG GOALS and SMALL GOALS. What do we do once we’ve have achieved our small goal? You set BIGGER goals. For example, to start jogging once I have reached my suitable weight, or maybe to join your first walk-a-thon at the end of the year. Bigger goals help you begin with an end in mind. Perhaps the main reason why you wanted to walk in the first place is not just to lose weight, but because you are developing a health condition. THAT BIG GOAL WILL BE YOUR PURPOSE. YOUR DRIVE. Walking was your small goal. The BIGGER GOAL may take years to achieve. That way, you are always working towards something greater and we don’t just stop once we complete our SMALL GOALS.
PLAN FOR IT
Once we’ve established our goal, we must plan for it. In order to walk for 30 minutes, you may need to move your morning meetings to the evenings so that you can have time to do your walk. You could also join a walking group to get you started. If something big is happening such as a birthday party in the morning, make arrangements ahead so that you can walk in the evening. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
WRITE IT DOWN
Write your goals and your plan down on your diary, or on a paper and stick it on your mirror, on your computer desktop, in the car, basically somewhere that you will look at every day. Always remind yourself of your goal so that you will stick to it. If you get distracted, you will fail. Never underestimate the importance and its effectiveness of writing your goals down on paper. Mental note does not work.
START BY CREATING SMALL HABITS
The thing about habits is that we can’t get rid of it easily. Imagine if walking is your positive habit! Smaller habits are easier to achieve and it is less of a turn off. If you set habits that are too difficult to adopt, it will unlikely happen. Example of a small habit would be to take a 10 minute walk around the garden at your home every morning before you get ready for work. Once that habit is ingrained in you, you can gradually increase it to 15 minutes. Soon enough, it will become a ritual. Small habits can be minuscule. If 10 minutes is too difficult, start with 5. The objective of creating small habits is to get us started. But it is important to build it up from there.
BE ACCOUNTABLE
No point setting goals if you’re not accountable to it. Checking your progress after every week or month is like a yardstick. It tells you if you are on track or not. Note down your progress in a notebook or an app on your smart phone so that you can review them from time to time. Set a reward and penalty system. For example, if you achieve your goal, reward yourself by buying that new sound system you’ve been wanting for so long. As a penalty, you could set a wager with your friends or family. If you fail to achieve your goal by the stipulated time, you will have to give them 100 bucks as a form of penalty. Telling people who genuinely cares about you, your goals helps keep you accountable too. Cause if you fail, you are not just disappointing yourself, but the people who cares about you too.
You should have other goals such as “I will eat more vegetables and less processed food for lunch and dinner, 5 days a week, from January till June”. But please make sure all of your goals are realistic and attainable, and be careful not to overwhelm or over commit yourself. It’s better to achieve 1 goal than none.
Now it is your turn to put it into practice. What is that one goal you’ve always wanted to achieve? What should that goal say?
Thank you for watching and don’t forget to leave your comments below, or share with us your goal. I would love to hear from you. Good luck!