Having BIG goals whether they are health, fitness, or life related can leave us overwhelmed and stressed out by all that lies ahead. Deciding on and aiming for BIG goals can make us freeze up and unable to make any progress because the big goals seem so unachievable.
We need to create and establish long-term goals and then break them up into smaller more achievable short-term goals to make this big task much less daunting!
Smaller, more attainable goals can be accomplished in a day or a week helping us to feel success as we inch closer to the end goal. When we are successful doing the small things we feel so much better equipped to achieve in the long run.
Follow these rules when setting your goals:
- Be specific and measurable.
- Set a time to be completed/achieved.
Below are some examples of health and fitness goals. Notice that the goals are specific. We don't want to simply say I will drink more water. We need to be specific and say. “I will drink 3 liters of water each day for this entire week.” This goal is specific and measurable and has an end date. Obviously, we can continue to achieve the goal after the week is over but we can evaluate our progress at the end of the week.
Small simple health goals look like this:
- Eat 3 servings of veggies per day.
- Eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.
- Drink 3 liters of water a day.
- Use portion control methods at each meal.
Small simple fitness goals look like this:
- Follow a week workout plan.
- Take ONE walk a day!
- Strength train for 20 minutes, 4 days per week.
- Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier everyday and try to squeeze in your workout first thing.
Here are 10 benefits of setting specific goals:
Motivation
Satisfaction
Consistency
Empowerment
Focus
Achievement
Success
Organization
Direction
Results
The last piece of important information to remember when goal setting is to focus on one thing at time. The purpose of breaking down the big goals into small goals is to avoid feeling overwhelmed. So even trying to focus on more than one small goal each week can be overwhelming. Focus on one thing at a time to be wildly successful before moving onto the next.
If we accomplish one goal a week for a whole month we will have achieved success 4 times in 4 weeks!! This is amazing. Set some goals, break them down, and achieve that shit!
Not sure where to start? I can teach you more about how simple habits can lead to BIG CHANGE in my Real Strong Coaching Club. Join me for a FREE 7-day trial: melanielund.com/rsc-free7day/