Setting Achievable Goals
Let’s talk about goals!! Try not to roll your eyes at me just yet!!
We are nearly at the end of February and by now your motivation and excitement for your New Year Resolutions (if you set any) has no doubt run its course and you’ve given up or forgotten about them. But I don’t want you to feel bad, around 80% of New Year's Resolutions fail. Why? Because we try to make huge changes with big bold actions which ultimately are unsustainable and set us up to fail.
Health goals are a great example here. If you have never set foot in a gym, are addicted to Coke and live on takeaways and fast food, do you really think you can completely change those habits overnight? Deciding that you are now going to spend 2 hours in the gym every day is quite frankly ridiculous. You might be able to do it a couple of times, but then you won’t have time, you will miss a day, feel guilty that you missed a day and then never go back.
Setting small goals is not only easier but sets you up to succeed. Rather than 2 hours in the gym every day, why not start by going for a walk once a week? Then maybe sign up for a fitness class. Slowly increasing the amount of exercise over time. Instead of going cold turkey with the Coke (which may or may not work) try swapping one can a day for a glass of water. Then two glasses, slowly increasing the water and decreasing the Coke. For your new diet, try one healthy meal a week, then increase that to a healthy breakfast every day.
Focusing on one small thing that you can change and build on is a lot more sustainable than making huge changes all at once.
SMART Goals.
Have you heard of SMART goals? SMART is a mnemonic acronym, which gives a guide to setting goals that give better results. The goals that you set should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Sensitive.
Let’s go back to our New Year's Resolution around health, as that’s a really popular one. If your goal is to “be healthier”, we can already see that’s pretty vague. What does that even mean? Assuming you want to lose weight, let's make this a SMART goal by saying “I want to lose 40 pounds”. Not only is that Specific, but it’s also Measurable!!
How can we make it Achievable and Time-Sensitive? A realistic target here is 1-2 lbs a week (according to the NHS). By not aiming too high, we are more likely to achieve results which will keep our motivation going. So 40lbs, losing 2lbs a week, is 20 weeks, or around 5 months. Not only do we now have a target date for our goal, but it is also broken down into manageable weekly targets!!
And a weight loss goal is also Relevant as it is a proven way to that vague “healthier” New Year's Resolution.
HEART Goals.
Of course, SMART goals don’t work for everyone. I recently came across HEART Goals, and there are many interpretations of this one!! One meaning is that your goals should be Harmonious, Exciting, Ambitious, Relevant and Transformative. Whitney English writes about how HEART goals are a system for setting goals in stages.
Help yourself - putting your needs first with self-care
Empower yourself - once your physical needs are met it’s time to work on your mental, emotional and spiritual needs
All your people - now you have taken care of yourself, how can you help those around you and improve your relationships
Resources & Responsibilities - this is about making sure your day-to-day life runs smoothly and that you are managing your time and money
Trade & Talent - this is your business and career goals. Notice how this one comes last and that we are taking care of ourselves first.
Personally, I like to set my goals using the moon. This gives me both start and end dates that fit into the SMART goal system. I also work with the phases of the moon to avoid burnout and build in self-care. I really like the HEART based system for setting goals, and find that I have been generally following it, apart from always setting business goals first!! It’s definitely a system I will follow in the future on a daily and weekly basis.
I hope you have found this week's blog helpful, and are now able to set achievable goals.
If you would like guidance and support to set your goals for the year, then book a Moon Reading with me using the button below. We will use your unique birth chart as a map, and the Moon as the compass, to talk about and plan goals that not only excite you but are achievable.
