Goal setting is a buzzy topic at the start of a new year. Everyone has big plans, high hopes, and is ready for a fresh start! The only problem is that for many people, these feelings fizzle out quickly… What if there was a better way to ensure success? If you’re hoping to make lasting change towards better health this year, you’re in the right place! Let’s chat about taking a fresh approach this year and getting intentional with goal-setting!
DITCH DRASTIC MEASURES
I understand the desire to set lofty goals and drastic resolutions. This type of messaging is everywhere at the start of a new year, and it can be hard to quiet the noise.
I think we’ve all set New Year’s resolutions in the past with the best of intentions, only to ditch those resolutions before February hits.
You know how it goes… you commit to completely overhauling multiple areas of your life and completely changing your routines.
Maybe you say you’re cleaning up your nutrition in a big way. You commit to dropping sugar, alcohol, and all processed foods. You plan to cook everything from scratch all while sticking to perfectly macro-balanced plates.
Or perhaps you decide that you’ll start a new daily workout program that requires an hour of intense HIIT and strength training plus commit to walking every single night when you get home from work.
While these plans are made with the BEST intentions, they’re simply too drastic to stick with. When we throw ourselves into complicated plans that require so much energy, it can be nearly impossible to stick with it.
So, are we doomed to never ever reach our goals? No way! It’s time for a fresh approach!
FRESH YEAR, FRESH APPROACH
Instead of going all in and changing ALL your habits at once, let’s take a fresh approach this year. Instead of getting drastic and signing up for a new diet program, cleanses, and complicated workout plans, let’s make a sustainable choice instead. Here are my top 3 tips to make lasting changes that will positively impact your physical and mental health.
TIP #1 – FOCUS ON THE PROCESS
First, focus on the process, not the outcome. This is a big one, ladies! So often, we’re hyper-focused on the end goal.
Whether you’re trying to manage chronic conditions, reduce inflammation, improve health markers or reach a comfortable body weight, there is a lot that happens in the process of working towards that goal.
When we neglect to pay attention to the daily actions, we miss out on the opportunity to draw from our experiences and reflect on the lessons we’re learning.
Sure, reaching the goal is important. But who you become in the process of attaining that goal is even more important!
Don’t lose sight of all the valuable growth that occurs while you’re working towards your goals. This is an important piece in being able to maintain success long term!
TIP # 2 – FOCUS ON LASTING CHANGES
Next, focus on lasting changes not short-term tweaks. This time of year is filled with temptations when it comes to “quick fixes”. Just say NO, friends! These shortcuts often lead to metabolic issues long-term.
Although the lure of a cleanse, crash diet, or intense program promises shiny results, they often fall short.
This goes hand in hand with ditching drastic measures. If you aren’t willing to do something forever, or simply think you can’t sustain it, it’s more than likely not a good choice.
Instead, focus on making changes that you can easily add to your routine and maintain for long-term sustainability.
If you’re not sure where to start consider things like drinking enough water, cooking more wholesome meals at home, or adding a daily walk to your routine.
TIP # 3 – FOCUS ON SMALL HABITS
Finally, focus on small habits that will move the needle. Your daily actions are truly what make the difference long term. While the small, daily habits don’t seem like big impactors in our health journey, they really do add up. Choosing to focus on consistent, daily steps towards your goal will pay off in achieving success and also help you maintain it!
You can get started with this by focusing on habits that aren’t serving you and replacing them with ones that do serve your goal. For example, if you want to work on reducing inflammation, think about what is causing additional inflammation that you can control.
Maybe you’re eating a sugary breakfast every morning. Swap that habit out with the new habit of eating a fiber-packed breakfast with only natural sugars such as overnight oats with fruit and chia seeds.
This small shift in your habits will have a big impact in the long run, plus it will make your mornings easier too!
SETTING INTENTIONAL GOALS
So now that you’re ready to take a fresh approach to your health, you might be wondering how to select meaningful goals. This is very important to achieving success and requires some care and attention.
I like to be super strategic with goal setting and make sure that the goals I set for myself are intentional in moving towards where I want to go sustainably.
Remember, we’re in this for the long haul, so we don’t want to set goals that are such a far reach that we can’t achieve them. It’s far more productive to choose reasonable goals that push us a little but are still manageable and enjoyable to work toward.
Keeping these things in mind is key in setting ourselves up for success long term and making our new habits part of a healthy lifestyle, rather than a short-term, quick-fix.
My favorite method for setting goals is using the SMART goal framework. If you’re not familiar, this will be a total game-changer for you!
LET’S BUILD YOUR GOALS TOGETHER!
If you’re ready to see exactly how I coach my clients in goal setting, you’re in luck!
Today I’m sharing a FREE Goal Setting Guide to help you understand the SMART goal framework and craft your own intentional goals!
This guide will walk you through the process with examples, tips, and journal pages to help you set yourself up for success.
Click the image to grab the FREE guide and get started today!
