The HOW TO on Setting Goals

We always sit and try to set goals for ourselves, to reach new heights, and improve our lives.  So we would make vision boards or jot down a list of everything we want to accomplish.  But that is always the easy part, the brainstorming.  It's simple to say, "This month, I'm going to save a thousand dollars," but how are you going to do that?  Do you have a plan?  Or are you expecting it to just fall into your lap? It would be nice if it could, but that isn't reality.  The reality is that we actually have to work at our goals or they will always be dreams we wished came true.  

What Do I Want to Happen?

I always ask myself this question when it comes time to advise my goal list.  What is it exactly that I want or need to happen?  Whether it be a yearly, monthly, weekly, or daily goal, this is a good place to start.  Just for the sake of this post, let's say I want to gain 30 pounds in muscle, this will be the example goal I set for the month of July.  

What Can I Make Happen?

Be Realistic! 

Now I actual might be able to gain 30 pounds in one month, if I stuff my face with donuts every hour on the hour, but that's not being realistic now is it.  When thinking of your goals, you have to be ideal.  Don't put something on your list you KNOW you can't accomplish.  Not saying that it can't be done, but you know it can't be, in the time that you are aiming for.  If I want to gain 30 pounds, it would take time to do that the healthy way.  So instead, I would like to aim for gaining 15 pounds in muscle, which seems the most reasonable for me to accomplish.

Strategize and Action

So how am I going to do this? This is when you need to come up with a plan of how you are going put those goals into action and complete them.  What really helps me is setting a date on the calendar of when I want to accomplish my goal.  Seeing it on paper and knowing how many days I have to complete that action, gives me a visual timeline.  For the example, I'm going to say the deadline for my goal is the end of July.  Now what is it I have to do to get there? What can I do in a week, in a day, that can help me reach my end goal?

As you can see, I decided to incorporate days at the gym.  While there, I will focus on excersizes that adds body mass and work in weight training, leaving me to work out atleast four times a week.  For my every day meals, I will eat foods that are high in protein, just not high in fat.  So with that, comes meal prepping and watching what I eat.  Staying committed to these weekly and daily task will help me, in the end, gain the extra pounds that I was aiming for.  And then I can proudly scratch that off my list and continue to improve my life!

Now this is a very brief and simple way to set out your goals.  As your dreams get bigger, so does the work you have to do to achieve them.  Just remember to ask, What do I Want to Happen, What Can I Make Happen, Strategize, and put those goals into Action!  Happy Goal Slayage!!