Six ways to set personal goals
With the New Year celebrations now behind us, lots of us are now looking forward to the year ahead!
And if your resolutions didn’t get past the first hurdle, then maybe now is a better time to reassert your will on personal improvement and goals.
Why not go for that dream promotion, or train for a muddy race? If you want to eat better you could sign up for a cookery class and you’ll even meet some new people in the process. The choice is yours, but the real question is: how do you stick to it?
Here are six ways to make an effective plan:
- Make your goal specific – when you have a clear goal in mind, you have a better focus on what needs to happen. For example, if you want to save more money, then set a realistic target amount and visualise what that money is going to be spent on… eventually.
- Measure it – it’s great when you can see your progress as it is a clear indication that you’re on the right track. If you want to lose weight, set yourself a goal weight and date to achieve it by, and use a fitness app to track your weight loss – it can help to motivate you.
- The goal should be achievable – when setting targets, you should be realistic about them, otherwise you will be disappointed if you don’t get there. Large-scale goals might be motivational in the beginning, but if the effort required to achieve them is unsustainable, you’ll feel worse than when you started out. Try breaking down big goals into bite-sized pieces and celebrate your small achievements!
- Be realistic – think about the timeframe of your goal. You may want to set long and short-term targets such as fitting into your old jeans or being race ready for a marathon which is six months away.
- It should be exciting – setting a goal that you’re not really bothered about will demotivate you, so make sure you don’t lose interest. Remember to visualise the end result often to keep up those levels of motivation.
- Record it – keep a diary of certain milestones during your journey, or log your progress on an app. You will be able to look at how far you have come and it will serve as a reminder for why you set those goals in the first place.
