Goals! Why do i need them? And how can i achieve them?
So, i sit here in work on a Saturday morning thinking about my past attempts to live a full and healthy life. I’ve always gone from going really hard for a couple of weeks, and then becoming utterly exhausted with it all. and before i knew it, i would be knee deep in a Dominos pizza ( with goodies for after;)-).
I haven’t posted in a while because of a few things, but ultimately time restraints and an utter frustration with the health and fitness community online. This is not a reflection on them, rather than myself getting frustrated with the fact that i cant get to where i want to be. I’m a sport and exercise scientist, who is now completing an Master of Philosophy in public health and yet, with all this knowledge and understanding i still find it hard to stay focused and reach my GOALS!!!.
But what are goals? Are they something you just say out loud or in your head which cements some sort of drive that you’ll attain them by doing random things over a period of time? Or is your goal something that is not over a period of time, maybe a weight goal, and you feel if you just go to the gym every now and again and eat some salad for lunch on a Monday that your golden. I have had some goals in the past, but they have never been something that I’ve written down, or had some time where i sat and really considered all factors that were going to affect me getting to my goals. So goals are not something you write down for 2 minutes and then spend 10 months trying to figure out how you will get there. They should be considered, and thought through.
For example: Going back to my manual handling training, you are told when carrying a heavy load, that you need to bring it from point A to point B, plan your path. You know your goal is further down the room, but as soon as you lift and turn around you have a couple of steps to negotiate, then there is some shelves you have to walk around, finally you have a small doorway to go through before going down some more steps and reaching your end point, your goal! For me, i know what the theory of goal setting is, but i haven’t truly understood it until this year. I have my wedding in March of 2019, and by then i want to not only be thinner for my wedding so i look good in my suit. I also decided that i wanted to be healthier, and happier for when i start married life. So with this as my big goal, i started to consider what smaller goals i could have throughout the year that could act as stepping points in my journey. In April, i have the Grand National, in May, i have the Christy Moore concert, and in July i have a festival with friends. Okay! these are events i know, but they are also in a sense, ways of rewarding myself for my hard work. And also, these are times i will probably not go to the gym and not eat well ( and maybe have a pint or two too much).
Within these time points i gave myself some weight or fitness goals, that i feel are achievable to me, and realistic. The last thing i want to do is give myself some ridiculous goal which i cannot meet, and then feel disheartened. It is better to set goals which are achievable, and then if you exceed them, GREAT! Re-evaluate for your next mini goal and move forward. The main piece of advice i can give is, every goal and journey will be different for every individual, in lots of different ways. Obstacles and challenges will no doubt litter your plan and try to steer you off course. The main thing to do is have your main goal and continuously re-evaluate your mini goals. If it is going better than expected, maybe the next goal could be pushed a little more. If you have had a hard time and gone off course, maybe consider breaking up your mini goals even more, and concentrate on small gains more often.
Hope this helps people in some way, and any questions drop me a line.
Thank you for reading :)
