By: Philip Palmer, BA, CPT, GEI
Continuing the series on behavioral change & goal setting, read on to learn how to set yourself up for success…
You have a goal, a dream, a pursuit, or an objective. You know what you want to accomplish. Now comes the stage of how you will get it done. In the last blog, we talked about finding a goal that is meaningful to you, whether it be fitness, nutrition, work, or something else in life that you want to accomplish. Now that you have that goal in mind, let’s make it happen by designing a plan, setting up solutions for potential obstacles, and creating the path to get there, as the time is now!
Now that you have your goal in mind, declare it. Put it down on paper, and then put it in a few places that you’ll see frequently throughout the day. These reminders could be Post-it notes, alarms on your phone, or even people. Keep yourself accountable to your goal. Reminders could be placed on the fridge, bathroom mirror, lunch box, even your phone background. The more you see it, the less likely you’ll forget what you truly want to accomplish.
With your goal set and reminders strategically placed, it is time to think about potential obstacles that might come up. Have you ever heard the phrase “a good defense is the best offense?” This is true when it comes to preparing to achieve your goal. Plan for those challenges and you’ll be more likely to push through them. If you can plan for potential obstacles this can make it easier to stay focused; when obstacles do come up you will have created solutions for them. The reason why I see many people fail at achieving their goals is because obstacles come up and they have no solutions for them. Life gets in the way and their goal is forgotten. Recognize and embrace that life is unpredictable, but don’t allow it to get in the way of your goal. There are times such as holidays, work, traffic, weather changes, and more that are always around. Planning for obstacles is a major part of planning for success.
Lastly we’re going to talk about daily and weekly planning. Weekly planning is best done sometime on the weekend before the start of the week, while daily planning is best done the night before each day. Know that you will need to set aside a short period of time to plan for the week or day, yet that time is a small sacrifice compared to the meaningful goals that you’ve set. Each day you’ll have an objective on what needs to be done.
All in all, by following these strategies you’re creating a road map from one point to another. You know your end destination, and now also know the path that you’ll be taking to get there. You’re filling in potential future potholes with potential solutions. You’re setting weekly and daily objectives, or baby steps, to get to your end goal. And now you’ve set yourself up for success and not failure.
Comments