I’ve been replaying a conversation that I had with a buddy recently as we were walking around the track at the Recreation Center after work. We were looking for open treadmills and it was crowded so we never did find two machines next to each other, or even two at all, and so continued to walk around the track. She said “Anytime now, it will start being less crowded because all of the people who set a goal this year to get healthier will start dropping out”. We talked about that like it was a good thing! And maybe it is, except I haven’t gone to the rec center this week at all and so maybe I will become one of the dropouts and that is NOT A GOOD THING! I need to stop and evaluate where I am with my New Years Resolutions which are really life goals because they just don’t change too much from year to year. I’m a little quirky sometimes but on this subject I suspect others are in the same boat as me.
Where you are with your resolutions and goals? February or March is a good time to take a look at them and evaluate how you are doing. I encourage you to join me in doing so because working towards goals and achieving success can help you lead a happier and healthier life.
Here are a few questions that I plan to spend some time thinking about, and maybe they will be helpful for you too.
- Did I actually set goals? Were they written down and specific? A goal to lose weight or be healthier is only a wish. And a wish is a great place to start, but difficult to attain because it is just too broad. How do you measure “healthier” so that you know you have achieved your goal? A better goal might be to exercise 3 times/week for at least 30 minutes. Now that can be measured and achieved!
Or to eat 4 servings of vegetables a day. (Your mother would be so proud!) Make sure your goals are something that is attainable and broken down into reasonable steps so you can make progress. Make sure that your goals are:
- Specific, and that you
- Write them down, and
- Keep them someplace where you will see them regularly.
If you didn’t do this on January 1, do it now!
• Are my goals important to me? It isn’t unusual to set goals to meet other people’s needs or to be working on something that isn’t super important to you right now. Nearly everyone sets a goal to be healthier, lose weight, budget better… but maybe you have a specific dream or goal that you are passionate about and more motivated to work towards. If obtaining a higher income is important to you, than maybe your goal could be something related to that. Examples might be: asking for a raise, learning new job skills, finding a mentor that could help you to the next level. If you long to travel around the world, maybe you could set a goal to learn a language, or explore a cuisine, plan one trip to someplace new, or start a vacation fund. Goals certainly don’t have to be the same every single year and your goals don’t need to be the same as everyone else. In college, I bought a blank book and started a list of things I wanted to do in my life. Some were fairly short term; and some were very long term. Some kind of mundane; and some really exciting. Even though I didn’t look at the list very often, I was surprised the last time I saw that book at how many of those I had accomplished. Somewhere along the line, I lost that book (or temporarily misplaced it). I would love to take a look at it again and see where I am with those dreams. Goals that are related to your dreams are a lot more fun, and accomplishing them can help with leading a fulfilling life. Choose goals that are important to you!
• Start from where you are. Be realistic and don’t compare yourself to what others are doing. Your story is different, your starting point is different, and your capabilities are different. I get discouraged looking at others who are in great shape and physical health. I want to be there and get discouraged when I don’t measure up and am tempted to stop trying. If you find yourself feeling this way too, don’t give up. Be sure to keep in mind where you are starting from and measure your progress from there.
Overall, remember that goal setting is a process and so is achieving them. It is not an event! So keep working towards your goals and towards living a happier and healthier life in 2016.