Goal Setting
Goals are one of the most common topics that I run into with my clients.
How can we reach them?
What makes a goal realistic?
How do I avoid becoming discouraged while working towards them?
Let's dive into how we can effectively set, work towards, and meet our goals.
The first thing to look at when working on goals is to make sure we have a clear definition of what our purpose is. Often we start the new year with a laundry list of goals that we hope to accomplish. For a lot of people, these goals can end up being somewhat ambiguous, like "get fit." or "save money." Without a clear definition of what “fit” looks like to you, or how much you intend to save, it can be near impossible to measure our progress. In my experience, this leads to people becoming discouraged or burnt out when working toward their goals. This comes from not being able to measure our progress and see the rewards of our efforts.
Instead, when we set clear and measurable goals, we can see the rewards of our efforts and are more likely to continue working towards them.
What does this look like? To take our same “get fit” goal and make it more precise, we might take our original goal of "get fit" and change it to "lose 10lbs in 3 months". Clarifying our goal lets us measure progress by tracking our weight loss and gives us a defined time frame to work within.My next suggestion for goal setting is to look at your goals and break them up into short-term and long-term categories. A clear example that comes to mind: setting a goal to run a half-marathon by the end of the year. If you're not a runner and don't have any experience participating in races, this can be a lofty goal that may feel impossible. However, if we set this as our long-term goal for the year, we can add several short-term goals that will help us stay on track for our long-term goal. In this case, I would set a short-term goal to run a full mile within your first two weeks. Once you meet that goal, you can set your next short-term goal - running one mile two times per week for the next two weeks. Not only does this help you measure your progress, but it also helps to keep you motivated by celebrating multiple successes.
Another third suggestion for goal setting is to narrow down how many goals you're focusing on at one time. While it is tempting to follow the "New year, new me" trend, setting too many goals at one time means that you are limiting how much energy and attention you can give to each one. If you set fewer goals at a time, you will be better equipped to provide each of them the time, energy, and attention they require.
Finally, give yourself some grace. Change doesn't happen overnight, and it can be hard. I know we all have grand plans for our lives and want to feel like we are conquering the world by achieving all of our goals, but life can be messy, and things can get off track. Know that it is part of the human experience, but we have the power to stand back up after falling and pick up where we left off.
Keep these tips in mind when looking to create new goals for yourself. When you set clear definitions of what you aim to achieve, create short-term goals to measure progress and boost motivation, narrow focus down into a one to two goals at a time, and provide space and grace for setbacks, you are setting yourself up for success. So now it’s time to put all of these skills into practice. Go out and create the future you want for yourself!
