Hello Wellness Warriors! Welcome to 2022! If you have been around for a bit, it’s good to have you back. If you are new to my little corner of the internet, bienvenidos! Either way, I am glad you are here. It’s a new year and I would be remiss as a fitness and wellness blogger if I didn’t talk goal setting. I’ve addressed it in the past and there is a goal setting worksheet in the Wellness Toolbox as well. Instead of dishing out advice on what or how, let’s talk about why, though.
Truthfully, it is pretty easy to come up with the whats of our goals. Especially when you are in health and fitness land, most of the time we are thinking of those before we have swallowed our last bite of Thanksgiving pie. Hows are a bit trickier as there is so much competing information on nutrition and exercise. Take a few buzz words like keto or HIIT and pieces start to come together.
Whys, though. Those are the sticking point. It is easy to say you’d like to lose 20 pounds. And it’s a relatively simple matter to Google search your way to a rough plan. But how many times have you asked yourself why? Why is this particular goal my goal? Why am I using the benchmarks I chose? Why did I pick the methods I did?
Whys are much harder to answer. As a trainer, I most often hear because it worked for my friend/relative. And more and more I’m hearing because this influencer does it that way. Depending on circumstance, because my doctor wants me to, is another often cited reason.
Anybody spot the issue with these whys? They are externally based. They are based on someone else. Someone else’s body, journey, and reasons. Now, to be fair, if there is a medical need for your goal (whatever it happens to be) then your doctor is, in theory, advising in your best interest.
But the motivation is still external. Someone you know or follow on social media lost a ton of weight or has a ripped six pack by following a certain plan. You’ve heard or read all the comments and you want the same validation.
Two points of fact here. First, ANY validation, but especially external validation, based on body size can be damaging to mental health. Your body is yours and while looking your best is fine, you should define what that means for you. Additionally, as I’ve stated before, it is more important that your body functions and performs the way you want and need.
Second point, external validation or the promise of it, will set you up for struggle. Motivation is already a sticky proposition. Even among those of us with an established exercise habit, there are days we just aren’t feeling it. By using external validation as a motivator, you set yourself up for disappointment. Inevitably the validation doesn’t come, isn’t what you wanted, or doesn’t feel as good as you hoped.
Which typically leads to one of two outcomes: doubling down or giving up. Both of which are problematic for Physical and Mental Health. So, how do you become a person with an established exercise habit and not a statistic? By choosing consistency over external motivation. And the first step in making that happen is by finding your own unique WHY.
By finding your why, you internalize the validation. You give yourself the power and control by deciding why something is important. This usually leads to more reasonable hows during the planning phase. If you have more reasonable hows, you are more likely to stick to plan when motivation (inevitably) flags. Which, I believe, is the definition of consistency.
Finding your unique why is a bit of a soul searching process. While it might be more time consuming up front, it is well worth the effort. After you have decided on your goal, sit with it for a few days. Don’t do anything else, just let it marinate in your brain. You might find stronger resolve, which will strengthen your goal. Or you might find that it makes you uncomfortable. If that’s the case, try to pin point what’s happening before moving on.
Typically, we jump right to planning once the goal is set. I’d advise that you take a beat and suss out your whys first. By asking why your specific goal is important, you will gain insight about your frame of mind which can guide your approach.
For instance, if you have a goal of losing 20 pounds, your why might be to ease joint pain. This informs some of your planning. Strength training is an important aspect of joint health and should be part of your program. If your why for weight loss is to help handle diabetes, your plan may be different. Strength training is still important, but timing meals and snacks to manage blood sugar will need to play a part too.
The most important thing I can impart here is that there are no wrong whys. Your whys should be about you and you alone. What is important to you and what you need. By taking the time to reflect on your whys during goal setting, you will set yourself up for success. There will always be days when motivation or time is lacking, but with good solid whys guiding you, your choices will be more likely to align with your goals.
Until next time, be well friends!
