The secret to setting & achieving your health goals
Changing your diet, exercise regime, reducing stress and increasing sleep are important pillars of health that all are really difficult to achieve - but almost impossible without clear and well-defined goals.
Without them, behaviour change will be the part of your health journey you struggle most with.
Let’s dive into why goals matter, how to set them AND how you can start achieving them!
Why setting goals matters
According to Dr Elliot Birkman at the University of Oregon (who studies the motivational and cognitive factors that contribute to the success or failure of achieving goals), a goal is “any desired outcome that wouldn’t otherwise happen without your doing something”.
Goal setting creates meaning and purpose as you pursue something that matters to you. It’s an act of committing to your own growth and getting intentional about things that are relevant and important - things that you want to see yourself doing or achieving, like improving your health.
And it’s not just anecdotal evidence that supports the claim that setting goals is important! A study by Dr Gail Matthews, Professor of Psychology at the Dominican University of California found that people who set goals are 43% more likely to achieve them. What’s more, that same study showed that people who write their goals down, commit them verbally to a friend or do regular progress reports are more likely to achieve their goals than those who just think them.
The problem is that a whopping 92% of people who set goals don’t actually achieve them… so how do we set goals that help us be part of that elite 8% that do actually achieve them?! Keep reading!
How to set goals that are right for you
Goals are about creating what you want - not what you think you should want or settle for or what someone else wants. They’re incredibly personal to you and should be something that you really want for yourself.
Every goal worth committing to should:
Contain an element of friction or resistance
Require you to do something new to make it happen
Expand your belief about what is possible for you
Be a want goal, based on something you value
Have a clear why - what’s the motivation behind the goal? Why is the goal important to you? Why now?
Have an action plan - what micro actions need to happen consistently in order to move yourself towards the goal?
A goal won’t magically come to you in a dream or be given to you by someone else. It can take some soul searching to figure out what really matters to you enough to be your goal.
If you’re just setting goals for the sake of it, you’ll likely end up being part of that 92% who fail!
5 mistakes to avoid when setting your goals
Goal Setting Mistake #1
You’re only focusing on the how of achieving your goal and losing sight of the why behind your goal. Your why is the source of your motivation - without it, you’ll find yourself losing steam quickly!
Goal Setting Mistake #2
You’re setting too many goals - and setting yourself up for failure! Choose between 1 and 3 goals to focus on at a time, rather than trying to overhaul 100 areas of your life in one go.
Goal Setting Mistake #3
You’re making your goals too difficult OR too easy. There’s a sweet spot when it comes to goal setting - the mid-point between where your goal is too easy (zero ambition goals) and where your goal is too hard (unattainable). Adjust your goal until it feels right - it should be a stretch, but not impossible to achieve.
Goal Setting Mistake #4
You’re setting wishy-washy goals that are open to interpretation and can’t be measured! They feel kinder, because you can adjust your interpretation depending on your progress - but they need to be more specific! Ask yourself: when or how will I know I’ve achieved this goal?
Goal Setting Mistake #5
Your goal should challenge you - but still be achievable. Try using a ‘good’, ‘better’, ‘best’ method to set a range for your goal. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, instead of setting your goal at 3kg, set it at 2-4kg where 2kg is good, 3kg is better, and 4kg is best.
3 science-backed ways to achieve your goals
Once you’ve set your goal, the hard work begins! But you’re not in it alone: goal setting and achieving is a hugely researched area of human psychology, so here are 3 scientifically proven ways to boost the likelihood of you smashing your goals.
Write your goal down, daily
As we already know from Professor of Psychology Dr Gail Matthews, writing our goals down makes us 42% more likely to achieve them. And if we look at them every single day, our brains never have the chance to forget about them. Write them on a post-it note and stick it on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, your steering wheel, your laptop - wherever you’re going to see it every single day and be reminded about your goal!
Plan out easy micro-actions
What are the smallest steps towards your goal you could take right now? If your goal is to start running, get your running gear prepped for the morning and leave it by your bed. If your goal is to learn how to knit, plan out exactly when you’re going to pick up a pair of knitting needles and buy some wool - and exactly which stitch you’re going to learn when. If your goal is to go to the gym 3 times a week, put it in your calendar and commit to exactly when you’ll go.
Dr Heidi Grant Halvorson, a social psychologist who studies goal setting, found that deciding in advance where and when you’re going to take specific actions to reach your goal can actually double or triple your chances of success!
Accountability
The American Society for Training and Development found that you have a 65% chance of achieving a goal if you commit to someone - so find yourself an accountability partner! Whether it’s a friend on the internet or your mum, tell them your goal, tell them the micro-actions you’re going to take, and make sure to check in with them weekly to give your progress updates and to adjust your goals if necessary.
Let’s set goals together!
Now that you know why goals matter, what mistakes to avoid AND how to give yourself the best possible chance of success, let’s get goal setting!
First, I need you to commit to being the most badass, confident version of yourself possible. The you you wish you could be every day. The you you know you can be with a little nudge in the right direction.
Done? Good.
Now, think about what you really want to achieve, create or move towards in the next month(s). If your immediate thought is, “I want to lose weight” - that’s a great goal. But I want you to dig deeper than that too. I want you to dig down to why you want that - because I’d bet it’s not really about losing weight. It’s about feeling more confident, having more energy to play with your kids, or being able to walk up the stairs at work without getting out of breath.
Done? Good.
Now check that it fits the SMART goal checklist:
Is it SPECIFIC?
Is it MEASURABLE?
Is it ACHIEVABLE?
Is it REALISTIC?
Is it TIME BASED?
Going back to our weight loss goal, a SMART, why-based goal statement would look something like this:
“My goal is to lose between 4 and 6kg in the next 3 months, by [X date], so that I have more energy to play with my kids.”
In other words:
“My goal is [ACTION] in/by [TIME], so that [WHY].”
Done? Good.
Now it’s over to you to smash your goals, hit your targets and become the best version of yourself!
(And don’t forget: if that best version of yourself needs a helping hand reaching their health goals, check out the 4 plans on the services page and then book a discovery call to discuss
