Christmas and 2021 seem an age ago now and we are already seeing the ‘Back to School’ advertisements on the TV and yet there are still a few weeks of holiday left for many people. But you have probably also been bombarded by those Facebook posts and emails about goal setting for 2022. How do you feel about that? Are you ready to get serious or are you putting off any changes or new ideas until the kids go back to school?
In my experience, setting New Year resolutions that require major changes to your life usually end in disappointment and can cause feelings of depression and failure before the year even begins. Why does this happen? Obviously we are all different but from my observations of people, they tend to react to situations that they find to be uncomfortable rather than proactively planning and taking action to change habits for the long term. When we are in ‘reactive’ mode we tend to make quick decisions about our lives that we later regret or that we cannot follow through on.
Taking a step back and thinking through your future path will provide you with better choices and a better chance of successful change. When you do this you need to think about all the things in your life that can help you make changes and achieve goals as well as all the things that might stop you from being successful. Then as you set your goals you should develop strategies that will help you overcome the negative influences, enhance the positive ones and maintain a proactive approach going forward.
So why not use these next few weeks to think long term and make some plans that can make it happen? Take some time to think through why your past plans may have failed and who can help you succeed this year.
It may help to read over our example of goal setting and change below…
Making Changes that are Successful
Imagine that you are overweight and unhealthy -something that has been creeping up on you over the past decade! You are feeling depressed and you lack energy. The reality has just hit because your best friend has announced their engagement and a wedding is imminent. You go into panic mode because you know that you do not want to be photographed the way you are now.
What are you most likely to do?
Go on a crash diet for week or two and hope to lose a few kilos?
Start exercising everyday in the vain hope that you will lose those extra curves quickly?
Binge eat at the end of the week because you are just so stressed?
Put on more weight!!!!
These are all highly likely if you do not step back and think this through carefully.
What should you do?
Take the time to plan and research the best approach to healthy living and ditch your ideas about rapid weight loss!
You should think about the long term goal and give yourself a realistic amount of time to change your habits. How about 6 months? This way you can take some time to check out a healthy eating plan, set some goals and an action plan and then find someone to help you and keep you accountable. Your goals should not just be about your weight loss – they should be broader and include details about your quality of life, energy levels, self esteem and if it helps, plans for a new wardrobe once you reach your goal weight.
But don’t stop there, you must also think ahead for how you will maintain this new lifestyle- this is you being ready to take the proactive approach to your health. That’s where a structure for planning and a helper comes in to keep you honest and share your successes.
Goal Setting for a Great 2022
To successfully set goals for a great 2022 and achieve them you really need to:
1. Set yourself some SMART goals:
The S.M.A.R.T criterion for goal setting is a helpful framework, and is also easy to remember. It generally stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-framed.
2. Develop an Action Plan:
Once you set your goal(s) you will probably need to explore a little more to enable you to break it down into steps or an Action Plan. As well as giving yourself steps along the way, you must also set time limits and even strategies to overcome some of the problems that you know will trip you up.
3. Find someone who will help you achieve the goals – a Guide on the Side:
Ask a trusted friend or family member to ask you the questions and help you write your plan.
What Next?
We hope you will join us at Helpful By Nature by subscribing to our email list.
If you decide to join our email list you will receive a tool to help you with goal setting and planning for a great future.
We hope you have a wonderful 2022 and that you will join us this year as we share a range of tips and tools for living a healthy lifestyle and maintaining healthy households.
Until next time,
Gillian (and Andrew)
