It’s New Year’s Resolution do-over time! With the set-up of our Community Hub and Make Life Richer Challenge, we thought now was a great time to talk about GOALS. How to set them, how to maintain momentum, and of course, how to reward yourself along the way!
Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
Ahhhhhh!!! How many times have you heard this and how annoying does it sound? Ya. We get it. But people say it all the time because it’s true. All. The. Time. Ugh. In case you’re unfamiliar, SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.
Make that goal of yours clearly defined. Set the parameters on how and when you’re going to achieve the small steps and milestones to get you there. Be realistic about your ambitions - setting a goal to run a marathon within 2 months is great but if you’ve never run before, a half or a 10km might be more attainable. And set yourself some timeframes. At what points will you be checking in on yourself?
Write your goals down
Did you know, you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down! So, what are you waiting for? Get to writing!! Writing things down makes them more concrete and tangible and therefore you’re more likely to achieve them.
The simple act of writing helps you to define and clarify your goals. It gets you really thinking about what it is you want to achieve and in some cases, might even lead you to developing related and complementary goals too!
Set goals that you really want to achieve
This may sound obvious, but sticking to a goal is tough enough when you’re motivated; it’s nigh on impossible if you feel no sense of connection to your goal. Let’s say you’ve decided to set your sights on running a marathon. Take a minute to really delve into that goal. Are you a runner anyway? Do you want to run? Is it a marathon that you want to take part in or is your goal more so that you want to become fitter?
If running a marathon is what you really want to achieve then get involved! Just make sure you take the time to really distil what results you’re looking for and outline and plan your goals accordingly!
Stagger your goals
Goal setting is infectious and once you get a bit of momentum with that first goal, it can be hard to know when to pull back. Having a few goals going at once is awesome, and one goal can sometimes lend support to achieving another which is also awesome.
That said, biting off too much can result in achieving nada so be conscious when you’re setting goals and try to stagger them so you can keep on top of the ‘A’ and the ‘R’ of those SMART goals!
Reward yourself!
Yes, the big reward comes with the achievement of whatever the wonderful goal is, but keeping up momentum along the way is really important. Take time to give yourself a metaphorical (or actual!) pat on the back. Find little ways to say thank you to yourself, for sticking with it and achieving the mini-milestones!
