If you guys have completed any of my Good Sweat Guides you know that goal setting is always included. I’ve been on my own wellness journey for about 8 years now and creating goals around healthy eating and training keep me accountable and motivated.
Goal setting can be tricky — I think we all tend to pick either really massive goals right off the bat, or make goals that are too vague to keep track of. Like “I’m going to lose 50 pounds” (too big) or “I’m going to eat healthy” (too vague). Choosing a realistic goal includes making it achievable, but also measurable.There are a few guidelines to follow to make sure your goal is realistic, try to work through these questions to identify whether you’re on the right track (for the purpose of this example I’m going to make creating a healthy diet the goal).
WHAT do I want to accomplish?
This is where you choose an action or habit to either remove or build upon in your life. The ‘what’ in this situation is food + diet, but you have to get a little deeper to make it stick. Maybe your ‘what’ is “I want to decrease the amount of fast food and processed food in my diet” or maybe it’s “I want to cook healthier recipes for myself/my family.”
WHY do I want to accomplish this?
Having a ‘why’ is so important — it helps you zone in on what your goal will bring you in the long run, but I also think a big part of having a sustainable goal is making sure it doesn’t come from a place of negativity. In my experience of being a registered dietitian, I see so many people wanting to get healthy for the wrong reasons… for example, coming from the place of hating their own body. If you’re coming from a place of unhappiness, my advice is to change your perspective to the positive. Instead of “I want to lose weight to become skinnier,” the ‘why’ could be “I want to create a healthy diet to increase my energy throughout the day.” Once you shift your focus to the potential POSITIVE outcomes, it becomes a lot more motivating to work towards your goal than when you’re focusing on reducing the negative.
HOW will I accomplish this goal?
Here’s the kicker. The method behind the madness, the actual plan behind the goal. First, don’t overwhelm yourself and tell yourself you’re going to change all your habits overnight. Take a critical look at where you are *currently* before you decide where you *want to be.* Maybe you already have a healthy diet and you’re just looking to cut out added sugar. Maybe you have no idea what a healthy diet looks like and you’re just starting your journey to wellness. Either way, determine where you are vs where you want to be and plan a path to get there. Break down progress milestones to monthly, but also daily. If your monthly goal is to eat less take-out/fast food, create daily goals that are tiny changes in the right direction. For example, drinking more water, and weekly goals that contribute to bigger changes like a weekly schedule for grocery shopping and maybe even meal/snack prepping so that you always have things that are easy to grab on hand. You should be able to measure your progress while also making attainable goals you can reach in the next month, the next three months, six months, and one year. Think critically about each progress milestone, write them down (!) and hang them somewhere that you’ll be able to see daily.
Goal setting always gives me so much inspo for the next few weeks and months, especially if I remind myself to keep checking in with my lists. It’s a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to! I know it’s cheesy, but the more you manifest certain things in your life, the more they will happen and come true. You just have to set your eyes on something and work hard to get there! I included a downloadable goal sheet below for you to use below to keep track of your progress!! Would love to see some of your goals — screenshot and tag me to keep the inspo going. Ok, good luck and I’ll check in again in a few months 🙂
DOWNLOADABLE GOAL SHEETS FOR 2022:
//GOOD START TO THE NEW YEAR – CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
//NEW MONTH FRESH START – CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
-Rachael
These goal sheets are great! Would be perfect to create a self care / wellness planner 😉
This is so helpful. Thank you!
These goal sheets are so helpful. Thanks for sharing!