Happy New Year!

Can you believe it's 2017?!

I love this time of year!  It's fun to open up a New Year, a clean slate, a time to re-evaluate where I've been and where I'm going.

I wanted to share with you some secrets on goals because I see so many people struggling with them, or worse yet, given up on it completely because they have failed so often.

Don't get me wrong, I have failed at my fair share of goals:)

So, I've come up with a system that has not only worked for me but has worked for many others (both clients and business professionals I have worked with over the years).

Here is my goal setting checklist, if you answer these questions for each of your goals, you will have a much greater chance at success:

Define specifically what you want.
Without being specific about what your goal is, it's difficult to measure and won't be sure if you've even reached your goal.  An example would be: "I want to get in better shape". This isn't specific enough and has too many variables. What does "better shape" mean to you? Does it mean losing 20 pounds or does it mean you want to run a half marathon?  Being specific is key.

Find your why.
If you haven't dug in to a deep emotional reason on why you want to accomplish the goal, it will be very difficult to stick with. Your "why" is you motivation and will keep you going when the going gets tough.  And let's face it, if' you're making a change in your life, the going will get tough, it's the nature of doing something new and getting out of our comfort zone.

What are the consequences for NOT following through?
A truthful answer to this question could be quite painful. This also can be very motivating.  Pain is very often more motivating than the joy of success.

Define what it's really going to take (HINT: the fool-proof secrets to goals is creating habits that support them)
Ask yourself these 2 questions:

• What do you need to START doing regularly to support the goal?
• What do you need to STOP doing regularly that distracts from the goal?

These 2 questions are all about looking at your life and seeing what habits or practices that would be of support to you and your goal and what you're currently doing that will keep you from that goal. Using the same "get in shape goal", if more specifically, the goal is to run a half marathon in 4 months, a habit to put in place would be running on a regular schedule.  A habit one may need to stop doing to reach this goal may be to stop staying up uniti midnight so they could get up and run before work.

Have a plan on how you will implement the above (If these are not in your schedule, it simply won't happen).
This one doesn't need much for explanation, life is busy. If you don't have an action plan or have scheduled the actions, they will simply not happen.

Stay attached to your goal by checking in with it regularly.
I highly recommend looking at your goals and the habits that will either make or break them daily - even twice a day.  What I've noticed, is that if I'm not connected to my goals, time simply slips by and nothing happens.

Define potential stumbling blocks and have a plan to problem solve each.
We all know life happens, so instead of beating yourself up when you come upon a stumbling block, how about understanding that they simply will happen?  Better yet, look ahead and prepare yourself for what may come along to derail you and have some ideas to problem solve them before they occur. This will give you confidence to keep going.
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Define what you need for accountablity and support.
I highly recommend not going at your goals alone.  All the motivation in the world can't combat a bad day (or a series of bad days). Having friend, a coach, or a group that are supportive of your success can be worth its weight in gold if it pushes you along faster and keeps you on track.

Thanks for reading!
I would love to hear from you. What has helped you the most to accomplish a goal?

Cheers to Your Health!
Shari

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