Setting goals is one of the most important steps to achieving success. Whether goal setting is related to health, family, or work; goal setting gives you a goal and a timeline to reach that goal.
I know the beginning of the year feels like a wonderfully fresh start for me. I always revisit my health goals with diabetes and the things that I want to achieve in the new. year.
The 10 tips below will help you set and meet your goals in no time!
Table of contents
- Keep your goals realistic and make a plan
- Set concrete milestones
- Write down your goal (over and over actually).
- Don’t talk about your goals
- Start a vision board
- Decide which metrics you want to track
- Break your goals down into bite-sizes, but take bigger bites out of your goals when you can
- Revisit your goals on a monthly basis
- Celebrate the small wins
- Don’t beat yourself up over failure – done is better than perfect
- The bottom line on setting goals for your health
Keep your goals realistic and make a plan
Goals should be attainable, not too easy or difficult. This way, when you achieve them they make you feel good about yourself while also motivating you for future goals.
Set goals that are challenging to reach, but not impossible for you. You want to give yourself room to grow along the way, but also set realistic, and attainable goals for yourself.
Once you have set your goal, it is important to make a plan on how to reach that goal. This will help keep you accountable and on track. Without a plan, goals can be easily forgotten or pushed off until later.
Break down your goal into smaller steps so that it is more manageable and easier
Set concrete milestones
It’s easier to keep up with progress if there are clear stopping points along the way (i.e., “I’ll go on a walk every other day this week”). Milestones make it easier to track your progress and stay motivated.
When you start to create those goal-oriented activities, you’ll notice that reaching your goals becomes easier because you have a specific endpoint in mind.
Write down your goal (over and over actually).
This may seem like a no-brainer, but many people forget to do this and then lose focus. Writing down your goal also makes it more tangible and real.
Plus, if you write down your goal in a specific place (like your planner or on the refrigerator), you’ll be more likely to see it and be reminded of what you’re working for.
Don’t talk about your goals
People who talk about their goals aren’t actually more likely to succeed. though talking about it makes you feel accountable and that can help motivate you toward success, studies actually show that the opposite is true, and revealing your goals can actually…crush them.
When you feel comfortable, letting others in on your goals can be worthwhile because of the accountability factor, but you’ll also have a group of cheerleaders who are (hopefully) rooting for you behind the scenes.
You can accountable by telling a friend or family member your goal and ask them to keep you on track, but just be aware that opening up about your new goals, may not actually help in the long run.
Start a vision board
Your goal is your main vision. Add pictures, quotes, and other images on a board that inspires you to reach the goal, and provide a bit of a roadmap on how to get there.
The imagery serves as motivation every day and will also bring about positive feelings, and reminders of your goals during times of self-doubt or uncertainty.
It’s also nice to reflect at the end of the year or roll those images into your board for the next year.
Decide which metrics you want to track
Establishing some metrics that align with your goals will also help you build out a path forward for the goals you set.
Establishing metrics can be a valuable practice because it gives you something to measure up to while you’re tracking your goal progress. Plus, it can help put a concrete stamp on
Break your goals down into bite-sizes, but take bigger bites out of your goals when you can
One helpful way to reach your goals is to break them down into smaller goals. That can help you with reaching mini-goals along the way, which can be extremely encouraging!
When you feel like it’s possible, extend yourself a little further, to take a bigger bite out of your mini-goals to reach your larger overall goal. It might help you reach it faster, and you’ll feel good about your progress.
Revisit your goals on a monthly basis
Now that you’ve made your goals, it’s time to revisit them every once in a while. It can be so helpful to revisit your goals on a frequent basis because then you’re faced with how far you’ve come, and what you need to do to keep up with them.
This also serves as another accountability practice!
Celebrate the small wins
Celebrate yourself. Acknowledge your progress, and always cheer yourself on. Rewards are great in celebrations! Find something that motivates you, and write that down. Every time you reach a goal, celebrate with that reward for a job well done!
Don’t beat yourself up over failure – done is better than perfect
As human beings, none of us are perfect. And while that might be a hard notion to accept, we just aren’t. So don’t beat yourself over failure, or not making a goal that you set!
You can always begin again when you need to, that’s the beauty of life.
And if you don’t achieve something exactly the way you imagined it, just remember that done is better than perfect.
The bottom line on setting goals for your health
Goal setting is an important part of goal achievement. If you’re struggling to meet your goals, it may be because goal setting has fallen by the wayside in favor of day-to-day distractions and other responsibilities.
Set some time aside each week (or at least once a month) for goal planning – like mapping out what you need to do to reach them or establishing metrics that align with your goals so you can measure up against yourself as you go along.
You’ll also want to break down bigger goals into smaller ones so they don’t seem quite so daunting while still being realistic about how far away they are from completion.
Finally, take note of when small wins happen and celebrate those milestones!
