How to Set Smart Goals
By Sara Butler
When it comes to your health, setting goals is very important. Most people don’t have trouble coming up with ideas for goals to set. What they do struggle with is what to do after a goal has been set. How do you reach your goals? There are smart ways you can achieve your goals, all you need is some strategy!
Create a Plan
You want to create a plan. Taking action instead of just thinking you’ll get around to it one day is very important. If you know where you’re going and what resources you need to get there, then you will able to reach your goals whether or not it all goes as planned.
Start Small
In order to create goals and reach them, you must keep your focus small. Too many things at once will derail your goals and could lead to feelings of being overwhelmed. Take your goal a little at a time and set smaller goals each day you know you can reach, such as drinking eight glasses of water a day or getting up when the alarm goes off. Small goals will help you build your confidence and pick up momentum toward larger goals.
Write It Down
When you come up with your goals, put them down on paper and give yourself a deadline. Remember, giving yourself a deadline will turn your wish into a goal and seeing will make you strive ahead to reach it.
Be Specific
There’s no room for vague goals, here. You need to be as specific as you can about them, but make sure to put it in measurable terms. Don’t use absolutes such as never or always. An all or nothing attitude will only lead you right back to your bad habits.
Don’t Expect Perfection
You have to leave yourself room for failure. Accept the fact that you might not make the first time because hardly anyone does! You are not perfect, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reach your goals if you just keep trying.
Reward Yourself
Don’t forget to reward yourself along the way for the small goals you meet. Negative thoughts will not help you succeed and reach your goals, so focus on what you’re doing right and successes you have. This will help you have the stamina to reach for what you want and get there.
Goal setting is an art and a science. There are things you have to do, but how you go about them is up to you. Just remember, you’re a work in progress!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Round Rock, Tex.