Setting and Meeting Realistic Goals
Whether you want to set a goal for losing weight, developing better eating habits, or accomplishing a project at work, it's important to have a game plan that spells out how you plan to proceed.
Keep It Specific
Whatever you want to accomplish, make your goal as specific and explicit as possible. State exactly what you want to accomplish and then determine a reasonable timeline for meeting your goal.
The simple fact is that if you don't set goals, you won't achieve them. To get the ball rolling, commit to your goal in writing and write down a realistic deadline for completing the goal. Be sure to break the goal down into small, doable, bit-by-bit steps.
Track Your Goals
To keep yourself on schedule, make sure your goal is something you can track during each step. Avoid nebulous goals that can't be measured.
If your goal is to lose ten pounds in a month, weigh yourself every day and track your progress on a weight calendar and includes notes to yourself about what worked, what didn't work, and any setbacks. It may also help to record your thoughts and emotions in a weight-loss diary so you can avoid thought patterns that lead to overeating and bingeing.
Make Sure Your Goals Are Realistic for You
Set realistic goals that you actually have a good chance of accomplishing, rather than pie-in-the-sky goals that set you up for failure. Again, an important point is to take one small, doable step in the right direction at a time.
Essential
If you want to lose weight, don't set yourself up for failure by setting a goal of losing twenty-five pounds in one month. Very few people can lose that much weight in four weeks without inviting serious health risks.
Also, remember that setting goals you know are impossible is just another way of not setting a goal at all. Sooner or later, you'll be forced to tell yourself that it's okay to bag the goal, because the truth is you never could have accomplished it anyway.
Make Sure Your Goals Are Relevant
Your goals have to be important to you, and they also have to be goals you think are worthy of accomplishing for them to yield fruit. You're not going to lose weight, earn more money, or organize your office just because your wife or boss tells you that you should. To be meaningful to you, your goals have to start from the inside. Don't let anyone bully you and set goals for you that you aren't ready, willing, or able to accomplish.
Give Yourself a Realistic Deadline
Telling yourself you're going to lose weight “when the mood hits me” or “when I have more time to exercise” is a recipe for failure. To give your goals legs, set a realistic deadline with measurable benchmarks along the way that give you a sense of accomplishment and optimism.
Let's say your goal is to research and write a report in one month. Divide the goal up into smaller tasks and assign each task a due date. Put deadlines for each task on a calendar, along with reminder notes that the task is due in a week, three days, two days, or one hour. Then cross off each task as you complete it so you have a visual record of your progress.
