It's Goal Time

It's New Years time again. In the next few weeks, most people will have already given up on their New Year’s resolutions:

• 66% of Americans set fitness goals as their New Year’s resolutions.
• 73% of them give up before meeting their goals.

Why are these people failing at their goals? The real questions I want to ask is, have you given up on your goals? Do you know what your fitness goals for this year are? Whether you have given up on your goals or not, or just want a different approach - keep reading these proven tips to help you achieve what you want this year.

Review the prior year before planning the next one. We have to think about the previous year in order to move forward.  Spend some time reflecting on the past year:

• Did you accomplish what you wanted to do?
• If so, how did you do it?
• If not, what went wrong and what held you back?

Doing this simple step will set you up for success because by knowing what your sticking points are or what behaviors you need to change you can better prepare to overcome those bumps in the road. Also, by reviewing the prior year you can evaluate where you really are and start to plan to where you want to go. When reviewing your previous year start with the positives:

• What were your wins?
• What did you do best, whether it’s big or small, that you can celebrate?
• What did you do to get those wins (behaviors, routines, mindset, etc.)? 

Now that you have looked at the positives, we have to get real and uncomfortable:

• What were your negatives?
• What mistakes did you do over and over again?  
• Could you have avoided these?

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Now that you've identified what you liked and didn’t like from last year, we can begin to move forward. I recommend structuring your goals the SMART way:

• Specific – target a specific area for improvement.
• Measurable – determine a number or a way to measure change.
• Action-Oriented – define your expected outcome.
• Realistic – ensure your goals are reasonable.
• Time Bound – set a date for when the goals should be reached.

Come up with a list of goals using the framework above and WRITE THEM DOWN! If you write your goals down on paper and place them somewhere you can see them every day, you will more than likely achieve them.

Here are some examples using the SMART way:

• I will workout with a trainer 2x a week.
• I will add 30 lbs. to my bench press within 6 months.
• I will bring my lunch to work instead of eating out 4x a week.

Here are some example of how NOT to set goals:

• I'm going to be healthy.
• I'm going to work on fitness.
• I'm going to increase my cardio.

See the difference?

"What’s the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Plan of Action

Now that we have made SMART goals let’s set a plan to get this done. Yes, your goals may look BIG at first, but we have to break them down into smaller manageable pieces. This is critical to following through with what you want to accomplish.

• Break your goals down by Quarter, Month, Week, and Day.
• Create a log to input your actively so that you can review at the end of each period.
• By doing so you are holding yourself accountable every step of the way.
• At the end of each period you can ask yourself: "Is what I did today leading me closer or further away from my goals?"

The answer is simple. If its closer... awesome job, keep it up. If its further... then look at your goals, re-evaluate what you want and change your course of action. Don't be another statistic by failing at your resolutions. Do something that has a why - a purpose, is guided, and is measurable... GOALS!