Goal Setting
We’ve chatted with a lot of people over the years about their health and fitness goals. Most have generic goals like to be healthier, become fitter, build strength, become more flexible, lose weight etc. And we’ve likely all heard of the S.M.A.R.T acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Determining these criteria increases the likelihood of us achieving our goal. While we don’t directly prescribe to this acronym, we end up determining these criteria in our own way.
Now, as we’re all very aware, knowing and doing are two different things. Most people don’t set aside the time to create S.M.A.R.T health goals. It’s more commonly done in the context of a career or in the financial realm. Why is this?
What we’ve found is that people are usually good at being big picture thinkers. Which is great! But they generally struggle with breaking down longterm ideas into bite-sized actionable steps and reassessing their progress regularly.
So…you’ve got big macro scale goals, but where do you start focusing your energy, time and resources to ensure you actually move toward them?
First, you need to dedicate time to thinking. That’s right, thinking. Uninterrupted, undistracted thinking. To goal set. To set the goals. You get the idea…
Here is an example of how you might organize your thoughts:
First, I need to determine what my big picture goal is. I can use the following prompts to help get the brainwaves going…
What does health mean to you?
How do you know if you are becoming more “fit” or getting stronger or more flexible?
How much strength is enough strength?
What do you mean by weight loss? Are you differentiating between different body tissues?
All of these questions have subjective answers. And most importantly, they should be YOUR answers. Not anybody else’s. Not your partner’s, not societies, not the magazine cover’s. Yours and yours alone.
Let’s use an example:
Let’s say my generic goal is to become healthier. After spending a solid amount of time thinking about what that means to ME, I determine it means that I eat whole foods 90% of the time; I workout 3 times a week consistently; I go to bed by 10:30pm every night; I drink 2 liters of water each day and I take time to play or do some hobby I enjoy each week.
Next, determine how close or far you are from achieving your goal(s). Are they currently habits or not?
Now, I’ve come up with a pretty long list of items that encompass my overall health. And let’s say I determine that I currently eat whole foods 70% of the time but I eat fast food for lunches during weekdays; I workout 2 days a week but inconsistently; during the week I go to bed at 10:30 but on weekends I stay up until 2am; I drink maybe 1 liter of water a day but I don’t really pay attention; and I haven’t played my piano or organized fun sports with friends in months.
Ok so now I know where I’m at presently and have a clearer picture on where I need to focus my efforts.
Then, break down your specific, measurable goals into the smallest possible steps you can think of. I’m talkin’ baby steps ya’ll.
To simply say, “I’ll pack my lunches during the week” is too broad. Good intention. But how will you do that? It may seem obvious, but I promise you this is the important stuff.
To simply say, “I will workout 3 times a week” is still too big. Get smalllllller. Ya pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down?
So, in order to pack my lunches I will make leftovers at every dinner.
And in order to workout 3 times a week I will workout on my own once, attend a fitness class once and will play ultimate frisbee in a rec league that will in fact help me achieve 2 of my goals.
In order to go to bed earlier on weekends I will schedule exercise and outside time on those days to help regulate my circadian rhythms. I will also start watching my movie/shows earlier by 8pm so I can go to bed by 10:30.
I will purchase a 2 liter water bottle and fill it each morning. I will drink the contents by the time I go to bed.
Besides playing ultimate, I will clean off my piano and not treat it like a dumping zone for bills. I will set out some sheet music and play while I’m waiting for dinner to cook.
Now, don’t skip this next step! It’s very important! By this point you may be all gung-ho that you have a solid plan BUT you need to determine any and all potential barriers or obstacles in carrying out the action items and possible solutions to these problems.
What could get in the way of your plans?
Barriers / Solutions:
Forgetting to grocery shop and running out of food / Shop each Sunday after ultimate
Not feeling motivated to exercise / Change my clothes and do the warm up and if I still don’t feel like it, then I won’t force it (chances are if I’ve gotten to this point I’ll keep going) and having scheduled sports, classes or appointments always helps with accountability
Watching too many episodes late at night / Get a new book I’m excited about to read in bed
Not filling my water bottle / Set a reminder alarm in my phone
Wasting time on social media / Put phone on airplane mode until after dinner
We highly recommend you actively share your goals with as many people in your circle as possible.
The more people know about your goals, the less likely they are to inadvertently sabotage you by asking you out to lunch or dancing on Saturday night etc. Once in a while those things are fine, but remember the key is to turn these goals into sustainable habits over time. That is where the accumulation of your efforts will lead you to making the overarching vision of becoming healthier, a reality.
Finally, you’ll need to set a date in your calendar (say in 2 weeks) to reassess how you’re doing with your micro goals and possibly dive deeper into what’s working and where you can optimize things.
Ideally you are keeping track of things in a journal or note on your phone since you have other things to focus on in your life as well. Work, family etc.
So you can appreciate that this process takes some time up front. But it feels good to have sorted out an initial plan. And remember, don’t be discouraged if you need to tweak your plan after you try it out for a few weeks. This doesn’t mean you failed, it means you’re learning what you need and what’s important to you, which is always a win. Think of it like a rough draft that may need a couple edits.
In summary, the steps are:
Figure out what your macro goal is
Assess where you stand with regards to that goal
Break it down into the smallest possible steps
Determine all barriers and also solutions to them
Share your goals with as many people as possible
Set a day to reassess your progress
And, if you need support in this process, you’re in luck! It happens to be one of our favourite things to do. It ain’t no chore for us! Let us guide you through the process of setting goals and help you stay accountable and on track. We have a new offering called “Goal Setting & Planning session”. Let us team up with you and work together to set some totally achievable goals that actually matter to YOU.