Goal Setting: Stay The Course!

Copyright (c) 2013 Colin Wilson

With every new year brings new resolutions, new goals, and new dreams: lose a few pounds, cut out sweets, join a gym, etc. The problem is sticking to it! How many people do you know that dove head first into a new resolution only to fail weeks (or at very best a couple months) later? This happens, and will continue to happen, for several reasons.

First, people tend to make one big goal that is extremely difficult to achieve. For example, "I'd like to lose 50 pounds." That's a HUGE amount of weight to lose! You don't just lose 50 pounds all at once. It happens one pound at a time and that's where you need to start. Fifty pounds can be your long term goal, and it's important to set a time table for when you'd like to have that goal achieved by. Once you have that set, then break it up into several smaller, more easily attainable goals along the way. For example:

Week

Pounds Lost (Total)

1

5 (5)

2

5 (10)

3

5 (15)

4

5 (20)

5

4 (24)

6

4 (28)

7

4 (32)

8

4 (36)

9

4 (40)

10

4 (44)

11

3 (47)

12

3 (50)

"How do you eat an elephant? Not all at once, it's too large! You have to portion it out into more easily edible pieces!"

As you can see in the table above, I've broken the long term goal into several short terms goals. By doing this, you can track your progress and ensure you are staying the course. After you have outlined your short and long term goals, it's important to map out ideas for what you can do to consistently reach these goals week in and week out, such as going to the gym, substituting that lunch slice of pizza for a healthier option, etc.

Another reason people tend to consistently fail at their new years resolution is because they fall back on what they know, which is exactly what got them in that position to begin with. If it didn't work the first time, why the heck would it work now? Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results," yet this is the ideology many people still employ. Going outside of your comfort zone can be scary at times, but it is necessary if you want to see new results. A fellow colleague of mine in the fitness profession, Justin Kompf, says, "If you want drastic results, you need to make drastic changes." This statement could not be more true.

Lastly, I see entirely too many people who are not honest with themselves. If you know you are NOT a highly self motivated person, then it is imperative that you go out and find someone who CAN motivate you! This is where personal trainers come in. A personal trainer not only will create a personalized exercise program in tune with your goals, but also will be there to coach you along the way to make sure you are hitting those goals. Even if you are a highly self motivated person like myself, it's still nice to hop in the passenger seat and let someone else take the wheel. I love hitting the gym with some of my personal trainer friends because I will just let them take the lead thus taking the entire thinking portion out of the equation.

Hopefully you can figure out a way to incorporate one or more of these ideas into your routine to help you stick to your resolution.

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