| Goal
Setting
Setting
goals can be a blue print for victory or a design for
failure.
To start developing your goals first look at
you’re past history. Have you been successful
in completing
your goals?
If the answer is yes, you probably have a formula
for success, and you should stick to your blueprint.
If the answer is no, then you need to start with
the basics and build a program that works
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BASICS
The
first thing you want to do is decide what your goal is.
The key here is to be as specific as
possible. For example, weight loss is not a goal. Weight
loss is an end result of all your other work. Do you
want to have more energy? And what will you do with that
energy once you have it? Will you work more? Play more?
The more specific you make your goal, the better
your odds of reaching that goal.
Supporting Your Goal
Once you have established
what exactly you are trying to achieve, the next step is
to set up your environment in a way that encourages your
success. Here are some suggestions that you may want to
try.
Ask
for help
Talk about your goal with your spouse or friends.
Have them remind you of the commitment that you made to
yourself if you find yourself faltering.
Everyone goes through a
rough time – No matter what you are trying to achieve
you will go through periods of time when things do not
go smoothly. This is the time when you have to buckle
down and review your original goal.
That is why it is important to make sure that
when you set up your goal that it is realistic. For
instance many people say they want to lose weight during
the holiday season. The average person gains 8-10 pounds
during this time, so it may be more realistic to
maintain your weight from November through December.
Also be sure you leave yourself enough time to
accomplish the various segments of your goal. We have a
tendency to design our programs assuming that everything
will run smoothly. Look at your past history, has this
happened before? If so, leave a buffer zone of time so
you do not feel stress about accomplishing your
objectives.
Excuses
Excuses are why things don’t get done.
There will always be some outside force (e.g.
work, friends, family, events) that will get in your way
of your success. The key here is to be sure that you
don’t get in your own way.
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Success doesn’t just
happen, it takes planning, perseverance, and hard work.
The rewards go to those who know exactly what
they want and how they are going to get it!
Setting
goals will give you direction and sense of where you are
in relation to your life. We have a tendency to treat
every situation as though it was urgent. That's not to
say that a situation is not important. Important issues
do not have to be done right away. In fact if something
is important you probably spend extra time planning it.
And most things are NOT urgent. The only issues that are
urgent are if they are life threatening. We like to act
as though more is better, that if
I accomplished 17 things today, it was a productive day.
You may be impressed when someone tells you how much
they did that day. However, being busy does not mean you
are being productive. Remember that it is the quality
and the direction of your work not the quantity that
counts!
Think
about your health goals the same way. Health is not
about fitting into a size eight dress. It's about
improving bone density, or lowering your cholesterol or
blood pressure.
Your
health goals will intertwine with your life goals. By
accomplishing health objectives, you will find that
other parts of your life become more balanced. Good
health will provide you with more energy for work or
play. Think how good you felt the last time you fit into
that dress or suit that made you feel special. Or how it
made you feel when someone told you how good you looked.
The cost for all that energy, feeling and looking good
is very inexpensive. All you have to do is prioritize.
Put time aside every week for you. Whether it is
spending time in the gym, going for a walk, practicing
yoga or whatever makes you feel good. Make sure that you
take care of yourself, because if you don't, no one else
will.
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