Goal setting is one of the least talked about, least thought about, least managed parts of most fitness or wellness endeavors. And, I know you’ll be shocked to read this, it is one of the most important.
How many of you have sought out help from a personal trainer or nutritionist? Isn’t one of their first questions, “What would you like to accomplish?” How much time and thought do you actually put in to your answer? Speaking as someone who sits on the proverbial other-side-of-the-desk, I can tell you that if I had a buck for every time I heard, “I want to lose weight and tone up,” my retirement would be set. There is nothing inherently wrong with that goal, by the way, it’s just lacking detail. And it’s the lack of detail that leads to some common pitfalls.
Pitfall Numero Uno: What exactly does it mean? Goals need to be well defined. What does your goal mean in actual exercise/diet/health terms? What does your goal mean for you and your life? You need to spend some time thinking about the nitty gritty. Defining goals well also means thinking realistically about the amount of time it is going to take to accomplish said goal, both in terms of time commitment on a day-to-day basis and the number of days/weeks/months until you reach your goal. Something else to remember, what activities (and foods) do you like or at least tolerate and what goes in your seventh circle? I see so many people embark on new training or a diet because it worked for a friend or is popular. Guess who is struggling to keep going after 3 weeks?
Pitfall Two: How are you planning on assessing progress? Being able to look at your end point from a well defined starting place is awesome, but just as important and even more overlooked, is the process of getting there. I am a huge advocate of having several different ways of assessing progress. Why? Because I can guarantee that at some point you will hit the dreaded plateau. Those happen to the best of us and if you are only measuring progress one way, they are super frustrating. So, use the scale AND get regular body fat assessments AND try on those jeans weekly. Because I can also pretty much asure you that at least one of those will show progress.
Pitfall Three: What is your motivation? Why is your goal your goal? Take some time to do some soul searching on this one. And you gotta be capital R real with yourself. We all want to look good, but if there are health concerns or mobility issues, those have to come first. Nobody gets a prize for being the best looking corpse, but being able to run after your (grand)kids all day, that’s a gift in itself. Truth be told, and I am speaking from my own experience on this one, sometimes we have to put what we want (or think we want) on the back burner and let it simmer for a bit while we focus on something we need. And there’s no shame in that.
So, goals. We all have them, but if you are struggling or stagnant, I encourage you to take a step back. Make sure your goals are well defined, in terms of numbers and in terms of you. Figure out how you are going to assess and keep yourself accountable. Find the right motivation. If you still need guidance, you should be able to completely answer the 5 Ws + H (who, what, where, when, why, and how).
