Are you setting the Right Goals?

Ask yourself this question, "are you setting the right goals for yourself?"

There is a lot more to goal setting than just picking a goal and charging ahead.  First, are you setting the right goals, at the right time, for the right reasons?

We can spend months, years climbing the "ladder of success" to reach a goal but if the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster. There are ladders that scale the heights of movies and music and dance and painting and in fitness. 

Everybody’s on some ladder. So best be sure it's the one YOU want to climb.

Let's see if we can't help you set the right goals the right way?

ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:

Are You Setting Specific and Realistic Goals?

If you’re not sure if something is actually achievable then you need to do a bit of research.

Let's say you're looking for a chiseled set of  abs.  Fan-frickin- tastic!  So, what's that actually going to take?  What are you going to have to give up to get those abs?  Yes, give up.  Like sweets and frequent dinners out with friends, time spent on the couch will now be in a gym or outside training. Beer, wine, Starbucks caramel lattes and more. Are you willing to change you're routine to achieve a look?

OK so ABS is a bit vague.  Let's be more specific so that it’s easy to take the goal, and work backwards to create a schedule of actions needed to succeed.

First, how much fat do you have to shed to see your muscles?  Say, 20 lbs.
How do you lose the 20 lbs?
Are you willing to change your diet?
How many days a week are you willing to train?
How long will it safely take to lose 20 lbs? etc...

This leads into ...

Have You Scheduled Time?

Set this stuff in stone.  Make yourself accountable.
Once you create the schedule for yourself to reach each goal that you’ve set, you need to truly consider how representative it is of reality. Say your goal is to be healthy and to shed 20 lbs in 3 months. But, you haven’t set aside the time needed to exercise and eat right.

For instance, if you are going to exercise 30 minutes per day, setting aside only 30 minutes isn’t going to be realistic. You’ll probably need to set aside an hour to account for getting ready as well as cooling down or getting cleaned up to go back to work.

We all have the same 24 hours int the day.  It's what you choose to do with it that matters.

Are You Learning from Failure?

Many times when setting goals and schedules, instead of learning from failure, people give up. Using the example above, once you implement your schedule to reach the goals that you have set, when you notice there are things you’ve forgotten to take into account, don’t give up. Learn from the failure and change the schedule to be more realistic.

You might find that in practice you have to rewrite all your goals and your schedule, but this is perfectly acceptable. Many people believe failure is something negative, but the truth is, if you don’t fail sometimes you’re not going to learn much and it’s likely your goals are too easy.

Do Your Goals Represent Your Needs and Wants or Someone Else’s?

A lot of people set goals that represent what someone else wants instead of what they want. This can really cause a lot of bad feelings and resentment which can derail the best laid plans. As you set your goals for your life, ask yourself if they’re really what you want for yourself or what someone else wants for you. Ask yourself if you’re okay with any goal you make being for someone else before you embark on your journey.

It’s okay to do things because of someone else, but it’s important that you are honest about that and make some goals for yourself too that don’t involve anyone else’s needs or wants.

Are You Checking in Often to Stay on Track?

Schedules are very important to the success of reaching any goal in life. To do lists pale in comparison to a well laid out calendar of tasks and activities that get you from point “A” to point “B”. Ensure that you look at your schedule every morning and every night and note when you succeed on sticking to your schedule and where you don’t. Noticing a pattern of activity can be helpful in fixing a poorly written schedule as well as staying realistic about whether or not you’re sticking to the plan.

Are Your Goals Focused Positively?

When writing a goal it’s important to write them in a positive way, or at least a way that feels positive to you. In the quest to improve your life, try writing down a goal and then changing the words to sound more positive to see if it isn’t more motivating. Example, “losing weight” seems like a good goal, but for some people it might signify deprivation. So instead, the person might frame the goal as “improving my 5k time” or “improving my cholesterol by 10 percent.”

Do You Have Too Many Goals Set at One Time?

Just as setting too few goals can be a problem, so can setting too many. Everyone has a personal life and a career life and points in between. If you have set goals in too many areas of life at once, you might tire yourself out and get overwhelmed. Instead pick one personal goal, and one other type of goal to focus on until you reach them, and then you can add more goals as time goes on. You don’t need to do everything today. Slow and steady wins the race is a good motto to hang on to.

Setting the right goals for yourself takes some thought. Don’t try to set all your goals in one day - instead, set some goals in different stages and in different areas of your life and really think hard as to why you’re making the goal in the first place.


Change is uncomfortable and you need to believe that you are worth the outcome.  Your deserve to be happy and healthy and the priority.


Be awesome!

Sara "Mighty Mouse" Leger