Goal setting tips for success
Ok, we all know about goals and how important they can be in moving forward in life. I help people adopt a new lifestyle in order to improve their health and vitality. Goal setting is key to succeeding with such a major change. Whether you want to tackle a big project, learn a new skill or incorporate small, impactful routines, setting goals and moving toward them can be extremely satisfying. Making progress and achieving results takes time, effort and the ability to stay on track. Unfortunately, losing motivation and wanting to give up is more common than we would like to think. Here are a couple of ideas that will help you win at the game of goal setting and achievement. Keep in mind that humans are wired to seek comfort and ease. Overcoming this innate tendency takes dedication and determination. Thankfully there are many professionals that have done extensive research into what helps us stay on track and reach our desired outcomes. The two most powerful tools they discovered were accountability and rewards.
Accountability
Track your progress
To improve your chances of success, you’ll need to understand the power of accountability and use it consistently. There are many forms and approaches to accountability so you can experiment with different options. A blank calendar on your refrigerator with a log of your exercise routines could be a great way to keep your goal in front of you, let others see your accomplishments and give you the reminder and motivation you need to follow through. Someone else might prefer to use an online or mobile app to log workouts or track activities. Another person might do best by having an exercise buddy to meet at the gym or for a walk. Finding what works for you is important. Not everyone responds to the same methods. The main point is to make it visible, write it down and check in with your chosen tracking method. If after a good college try things are just not working, try a different approach. Make it specific to you and your lifestyle. You will find something that clicks for you, have faith!
Community Buy In
Using the tool of community support will help you leverage the power of accountability and enhance your results. Having the people you admire and respect understand what you are striving for, can make a huge difference. Many of us feel we want to be private and only show our results when we’ve accomplished something but not necessarily let others in on the process as it unfolds. The promises we quietly make to ourselves are all too easy to procrastinate on or give up on all together. This sets up a negative cycle of trying to get tough with yourself, letting yourself down and then feeling bad or hopeless about your ability to follow through. A better approach is to create a system of accountability, let others in on what you’re up to and avoid the possibility of a downward spiral and the bad feelings that come from negative self-talk and disappointment. When you promise to your boss or team member to get a certain report completed, you are much more likely to apply the extra effort needed to get it done on time. When you tell a friend “I’ll see you at the gym on Friday” you will most likely show up. When you tell your partner you will leave work on time in order to manage your tendency to over work, the fact that you have someone counting on you is hugely motivating. Just letting your friends know you are on a strength training program or weight loss plan will keep the goals alive and real. Who knows, you may inspire others in the process. A great side benefit of community buy in.
Attach a deadline
Another factor to consider when using accountability in connection with your goals is attaching a time commitment to the activity or project. Set a date and time that the goal or step toward the goal will be finished. Committing to a task in a meeting or at home or with your church group is a beautiful thing. When that task has an end date or time to be completed by, that is stated clearly to the others involved, you will be much more likely to follow through and get the job done. In contrast, if you say “I’ll work on that” or “I should be able to help out” there is no deadline or target to shoot for. You may have to change the deadline or due date to accommodate unforeseen circumstances, simply recommit and get a new date on the calendar to work toward. The project is more likely to drag on when we don’t clearly express time boundaries when we set the goal. To recap, logging or tracking your progress, sharing your goals with those you are close with and setting clear dates and times for completion will boost your success rate as you work toward your goals.
Rewards
Now, let’s talk about rewards and how to use them successfully in goal setting. We’re all familiar with a good behavior chart implemented to help children with basic socialization skills. Earning that little star gains meaning when a trusted adult makes it clear to the child how proud and impressed they are with the child’s ability to demonstrate the desired behavior. The power of a clear reward is being used. Anyone involved in raising or being in a leadership role with kids will tell you, it works! Maybe after they have 10 stars there will be a bigger reward, something that they are sure to get excited about (ice cream, a trip to the park or having a sleep over). This helps the child learn the impact of consistency and the long-term benefits of adopting the behavior. As adults, we are really no different. Maybe stars on a chart and the possibility of ice cream is not what motivates us, but we can use the fact that rewards work to engineer a system that has meaning and helps us drive forward to accomplish what we set out to do.
Have the reward match your efforts
Accountability and rewards work synergistically. An accountability system, partner or process is more powerful when rewards are woven into the plan. Research has shown that small medium and large rewards work hand in hand with our small medium and large goals. Have you ever experienced completing a goal that took a huge chunk of effort and time to accomplish and after the initial “high” of reaching the goal, maybe the next day you experience a downturn in energy? The spark we felt as we were working toward the goal is gone. This is one of the reasons setting up a reward in advance is so important. Planning in advance a way to celebrate your wins is a wise approach when setting your goals. Tailoring the reward to match the effort is also important. If you’ve just run your very first marathon, going out for ice cream will not match the sustained effort you’ve used to complete a marathon. Buying an expensive new outfit would be more than warranted for staying on your diet for one week. It’s important enough to get this right so take some time to really look at what kind of reward will match your goal when you’ve reached it and make sure to take time to sincerely review what you’ve accomplished and how hard you’ve worked for it. This has proven to be extremely important in how satisfied we feel.
Alignment with your core values
Another pit fall to watch out for is setting up a reward that is not in alignment with your long-term trajectory. Going out to eat is not a great reward for losing weight. Look at a different activity that will be fun and you look forward to and doesn’t involve going off your diet. This will serve you far better. We often think of rewards as material things. If you are struggling financially or working toward saving for a house or a car, buying something as a reward may not be in alignment with your already established goal to save. Your reward could be time to yourself with no responsibilities or interruptions. Maybe your reward is getting out in nature or allowing yourself time to enjoy a hobby. Get creative and make sure the reward is really something that will fill you up, be in alignment with the bigger picture of your life and be appropriate in nature to the goal you’ve completed. Small goals deserve rewards too! Finishing your homework on time may result in you allowing yourself another hour of TV time that night. Going out with friends might be contingent on you getting your house cleaned up. You get the idea….. Have some fun including accountability and rewards when you set new goals and prepare to celebrate your hard earned results!
Hiring a professional coach
If you are serious about making progress toward your goals, you can hire a professional coach to help guide you and reveal life changing insights. A coach is trained in how to ask specific open-ended questions to help you learn what makes you tick, what motivates you and what strategies will work best in planning the next steps on your way to achieving what you desire. Want to learn more about the difference a life coach can make in adopting new habits and realizing your dreams? Schedule a free consultation. Being coached has totally changed my world in a beautiful way. The time and commitment to myself has paid off tremendously!
