Goal Setting for Success

You are embarking on a journey to change your health. Setting goals helps keep you on track and motivated, and when you have a "why" you are more likely to follow through. In order for you to reach a goal, you first must define it clearly.

Think of goal setting as planning a road trip. You dream about the trip, plan ahead by packing all the necessary items, get in the car, turn the key but if you don't have a map or already know the way, it is going to take you a lot longer to get to your destination. However, if you put the exact address into your GPS system, step-by-step you will be shown the way. If you follow the map and the instructions, you will end up at your destination because you have programmed in the goal or the destination before the start.

Unfortunately, statistics show that less than 3% of adults have clear written goals with plans on how to achieve them. Before you begin setting goals, it is important to know some strategic steps to help you define your goals.

Step 1: Develop a Desire—Don't Feed Fear. Actions are usually based on one of two things--fear or desire. If you are trying to implement positive change while holding a fearful idea that you might not accomplish it, you will be doomed to failure. Fear is a powerful force but not one that spurs us toward greatness. Desire, on the other hand, is a passion that comes from within and has the power to change our very nature and fuel our actions.

Step 2: Find Confidence and Determination Within Yourself. If there is any doubt in your mind that you may not be able to achieve something, you won't give it your all. In fact, you will probably lose momentum, procrastinate, or ultimately set the goal aside. In order to fully achieve anything, you must believe it is attainable and sustainable.

Step 3: Write it Down—Give it Life. Until you put a goal in writing, it is just a dream. Once your goal is in writing, it becomes real. When writing down your goal, put it in as much detail as you can. Be specific on what your life will be like when you have met this goal. Let your imagination run away with it and make it as real as possible.

Step 4: See the Benefits. This is similar to Step 3, but it goes further in using your mind. Think of all the great reasons why reaching this goal will improve your life and write those down. Taking this step can be of great benefit when things get a little tough or you falter a bit. You can read this list and become re-motivated and re-energized to continue to the goal.

Step 5: Know Your Starting Point. Knowing your starting point or baseline is very helpful when you want to measure your progress. It is always very rewarding to see how much progress you have made and how far you have come to reaching a goal, but the only way to really gauge the progress is to know where you started. See the MSQ on page ___ for a good tracking tool.

Step 6: List Your Potential Obstacles. This may seem like a downer task, but sometimes it is good to know the potential threats to success, especially if you have a history of giving up in a particular area. Once you name a threat or obstacle and become aware of it, the obstacle has less hold on you. After listing all the possible obstacles that you can think of, re-list them in order of difficulty to overcome. Tackle the biggest one first, and then

Step 7: Identify the Necessary Resources. List all the things you may need in order to reach your goal. They may seem small, but knowing your resources ahead of time gives you an advantage. You can have then poised and ready if you need them. Having a coach or support person can be one of those resources. Don't be hesitant to ask for help! Educate yourself; do your research ahead of time.

Step 8: Enlist Your Support Team. A support team is essential when you undertake goals. We need the help of others from time to time. Educate the people you select about the reasons you are working toward your goal and why you would like their support. Also, let them know ahead of time you may only need them for a sounding board and not problem-solving. Work out a way to communicate that to them so they easily understand the difference. The team may include family, friends, co-workers, your doctor, and whomever else you deem appropriate. You may even find someone that wants to

Step 9: Practice Discipline, Patience, and Forgiveness. You may from time to time feel frustrated because your goal has not manifested in the time frame you wanted. Don't give up. Stay disciplined and keep doing the work. Patience sometimes is the one thing that you may feel you have going for you, so allow yourself to feel gratitude for that. Remember to revisit your goal list. That will help to re-focus you. If and when you falter, don't beat yourself up. Realize that life is like that sometimes. We can make the best plans and have the best intentions, but things just go another way for a while. Practice patience, discipline, and determination. You may need to revisit the goal and see if there is a disconnect with your values or belief systems or that the goal is not appropriate or realistically attainable. Accept that things take time.