The Golden Rules For Goal Setting

As 2017 is com­ing to a close, there is that antic­i­pa­tion of New Year’s res­o­lu­tions and set­ting goals for 2018. I’ve nev­er been a big “res­o­lu­tion” per­son, but I do like look­ing ahead towards the New Year with set­ting some new goals.

I dis­cov­ered that there are actu­al­ly gold­en rules for goal set­ting! I found a great arti­cle on Mind­Tools that helped me put togeth­er a sum­ma­ry of the 5 Gold­en Rules:

• Set goals that moti­vate you.
  • they must be impor­tant to you and have val­ue if you achieve them.
  • you must have an “I must do this” atti­tude and a sense of urgency to succeed.

• Set SMART goals.
  • Spe­cif­ic — must be clear and well defined.
  • Mea­sur­able — “you can not man­age or improve some­thing until you mea­sure it” Dar­ren Hardy
  • Attain­able — it must be pos­si­ble to achieve.
  • Rel­e­vant — your goals should align with your direc­tion in life.
  • Time Bound — your goals must have a deadline.

• Set your goals in writing.
  • the phys­i­cal act of writ­ing down your goals makes them tan­gi­ble and real.
  • use “will” instead of “would like to”.
  • frame your goal state­ment in a pos­i­tive tone.

• Make an action plan.
  • write down the steps you will take in order to reach your goal.
  • cross off the steps as they have been completed.

• Stick With It!
  • goal set­ting is an ongo­ing activity.
  • build in reminders to keep you on track.
  • post your goals where you can see them as reminders.

From a health coach per­spec­tive, I tell my clients to focus on the activ­i­ties you CAN CONTROL and do THOSE.…your results will follow.

Stretch yourself…set a new goal and pic­ture your­self achiev­ing it.…you CAN make it happen!

Here’s to a healthy, hap­py 2018 and beyond.…LIVE BETTER!