“Goals do not define the journey, they define points along the journey. They are important markers to gauge progress along the journey. But they are not, as most believe, the thing that inspires.” – Simon Sinek
The start of a new year brings new adventures, achievements, and goals. It is common that goals are often set without the journey or inspirations attached to the goal. Before setting goals, it is important to navigate the journey you wish to take to establish your goals. For example, the journey might be that you want to dedicate more time during the week to your fitness health and wellbeing. Therefore, your goals might include attending the gym a certain number of times a week or training for fitness challenges.
Why is goal setting important?
Without goals, it can be really challenging to identify what you are achieving each day, month, and throughout the year. Without that drive this can leave us feeling unmotivated. One of the main benefits of goal setting is that allows us to focus on what motivates and inspires us to move through each day. It provides self-satisfaction to know that you are working towards something that you are truly passionate about and allow us to prioritise based on the goals set. Measuring our goals also provides the additional knowledge about how we are tracking, and steps are needed to achieving the set goals throughout our journey.
What to look for when goal setting
- Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound (SMART)
- Focus on goals that you are passionate about and will keep you motivated.
- Goals that have an ongoing journey attach to them.
- Plan your goals – when setting your goals, plan out what needs steps need to actioned in order to remain o track with your goals.
What to avoid when goal setting
- Making unrealistic or unachievable goals
- Setting too many goals
- Setting goals that do not have a journey
- Creating goals that do not motivate and inspire you
- Setting goals that out of your control
Using the above guidelines to goal setting allow you to be able to start planning your goals. Remember goals can be long-term or short-term! The key is having the right journey mapped out to ensure that your goals align and to not overcomplicate it. Goal setting if done correctly can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Make sure to have a conversation with your exercise physiologist about setting the right goals for you and your journey.