If you want to achieve anything, setting goals is the first step to get you started. By setting goals, it becomes clear about what you need to do, why you want to do it and success rate is increased.
Most new clients approach me seeking motivation, consistency and quality in their goal to perform better, live healthier and move more. A common method in achieving their health goals are by understanding their objectives and how to achieve it, meeting with them various times a week and giving them personal trainings that are adapted to their level and objectives, encouraging enjoyment in the training, and maintaining motivation and positive communication.
But it's pretty difficult to create a goal that says for example, ‘I want to get fit’. This goal means nothing. It doesn’t tell you why, how, what will happen or who will do it - therefore making it hard to achieve without extra direction.
In this blog, I am going to advise you on the way that I set my goals and why I think it’s effective. The key is to keep your goals SMART.
Specific
Make your goal specific. If your goal is too vague or confusing, it will make it harder to be achieved because you won’t know how to deal with it or go forward.
For example, the goal of ‘I want to hold the Elbow Plank for longer’ is not very productive. It does not tell you how much time you want to hold, how you will train for it etc.
When creating your specific goal, think about:
- Why you want to achieve it?
- How you will achieve it?
- What you will do to achieve it?
- When you want to achieve it?
- Who you want to achieve it with?
- Where will you achieve it?
After thinking about these questions, you can create a better goal such as ‘I want to increase my Elbow Plank time from 60 seconds to 90 seconds by adding 5 seconds to the Planking round every week for 6 weeks’.
This goal is of higher quality because it gives you a direction and extra details of how to achieve this goal. It allows you to be more focused and have a better idea of what to do.
Measurable
Your goal needs to be measured to show evidence that it is progressing or achieved. If you cannot see, hear or feel your goal progressing, how can you know if you have achieved it?
For example, the goal of ‘I want be healthier’ cannot be measured. It does not tell you how you will know when you are healthier. But the goals of ‘I want to train 4 times a week for 1 hour per session’ can be measured by physical training attendance. This makes the goal easier to achieve.
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Attainable
You need to think about whether your goal is really to achieve against the other challenges that you face.
Think about the reality:
- Do I have the time to achieve this goal?
- Do I have the finances needed to achieve this goal?
- Do I have the motivation to achieve this goal?
- Am I willing to sacrifice other parts of my life to achieve this goal?
This does not mean that you should give up if you think that the goal is too hard or impossible. Nothing worth achieving is easy! However, if you still believe and want to achieve the goal after considering your current situation, this will set you up for a greater chance of attaining it!
Relevant
Think about if your goal is important to you, your values and your life.
- Why do you want to achieve this goal?
- Will this goal help achieve something else?
- Will this goal actually help achieve something bigger?
- Will this goal make me happier/healthier/better/more successful?
If a goal is of deep importance to you, the experience of working towards it will be more enjoyable and rewarding - and as we all know when you enjoy what you do and if the purpose is strong, you will more likely achieve success.
Timely
Select a date when you want to begin your goal and a date of when you wish to achieve it. Of course, if you want to achieve something and then maintain it such as ‘I want to train 4 times a week for 1 hour per session’, it is a good idea to select a date to check if you are progressing.
If you don’t set a deadline or a schedule you may procrastinate, quit easily and not be held accountable.
Make sure that you are still able to be flexible with your deadlines as some disruptions in life are hard to control. Setting a deadline simply allows you to have a firm direction and motivation.
DON’T SET STUPID GOALS, SET SMART GOALS!
So there you have it. Goals are such a good way to get your journey started and remain focused and the SMART goal setting is one concept that really helps my clients and myself achieve greatness!
Good luck!
Lucas Kruel
#trustmycoach