To set your goal, ask yourself:
- What do I have to do to achieve my vision?
- What change in my life has to happen?
- Am I ready to make this change?
A good goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Once you have an idea of your vision for yourself, you may need to make changes in your life to reach your vision. Setting goals for the changes you make can help you reach them.
Goals are things you need to do to achieve your vision. For example, if your vision is to feel better and play with your grandchildren, your goals might be:
- to increase fitness and strength (to have more energy and be able to play)
- to eat more healthily (to have more energy and feel better)
- to get enough sleep (to have more energy and feel better)
You may need to set a few goals to reach your vision. If you feel overwhelmed by the number of changes you need to make, then start small and choose one goal to work on first.
How Do I Set a Goal?
When choosing a goal make sure it is:
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Specific. Write down the details of your goal.
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Measurable. How will you know you reached your goal?
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Achievable. Can you do what it takes to reach your goal? Is it too hard?
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Relevant. Make sure the goal is something you want to do
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Timely. When do you plan on reaching this goal? Have you given yourself enough time?
How Do I Achieve My Goals?
1. Why is this change important to you?
This change is important to me because: |
2. How important is this change right now?
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|
|
Not very important |
Very important |
3. How confident are you that you can achieve this change?
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|
|
Not very confident |
Very confident |
4. Are you ready to do what it takes to make this change happen?
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|
|
I am not ready |
I am very ready |
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If this change is not important to you (below a 7) and you do not feel you have the confidence to do it (below a 7), then it may not be the right goal for you now. Choose something else or modify the goal so that you feel it is something you can do. For example, if you wanted to set a goal to walk 5 days per week but you are not confident you can do that, then try 3 days per week instead.
If you believe it is important and you feel you can do it, then you are likely ready to work on this goal and will do well!
