How to Quantify Your Health and Fitness Goals

We all strive to be healthy, however unless it is right at the top of your list of priorities you will always give in to temptation, whether that is a slice of mud cake or sleeping in and missing your morning fitness session. So first of all we must make health and fitness a goal that has priority in out lives. How?

First of all let’s define, what exactly is a goal? The word goal is defined as a purpose to which your energies are directed toward a specific outcome. Whew! How about this a goal is an intention you have to create a specific result within a particular time frame. Goals can either short term, or long term and the time frame you set needs to be in direct proportion to the goal set. There is no point setting a goal to lose 20 kilos in a week, as this is near impossible and if it is, it just might kill you.

Setting a goal with intention gives you direction, clarity and a quantified outcome. Think of it as dangling a carrot in front of you – and for this reason goals need to be something you really want or the payoff will not be enough to keep you motivated and on track. You have to want it. One way to do this is to make your end result clear; it must also be reachable and very importantly exciting for you. So if the idea of being healthy doesn’t light you up, what will that gives you the same result?

Could you give yourself the goal of being fit and healthy enough to run your local annual marathon? Or to play soccer on the beach with your kids? What about being able to run to the top of your stairs without puffing, or dance the night away without feeling completely washed out and sore the next day, or fit into your favourite sexy jeans?

Find something that is exciting to you as your goal that represents the more mundane goal you really have in mind. Remember, all goals need to have a payoff, something you want enough to keep you motivated and a way for you to reward yourself at the end.

Let’s get some clarity on each of the facets of good goal setting:
- Your health goal must be clear State your goal clearly. If your goal is to lose weight, in which part of your body do you particularly want to lose weight and how many kilos do you want to lose and by when? Clarity prods you on your path to create a strategy.
- Make your goal reachable Our goals also have to feel and be reachable for us because if we don’t meet up, we run the risk of tripping up and beating ourselves up. And we lose momentum, could end up as couch potatoes and run far from the goal. So, start with the end in mind and work back from there giving yourself smaller steps until you are back to now. You will now have a calendar of events to reach for that makes it seem so much easier to do.
- Be focused Be clearly focused on the goal you want to achieve, know exactly what you want and why you want it and then know what your reward is for hanging in there. Lack of focus or too many choices leads to indecision and poor results.
- Make your goal exciting If the goal doesn’t motivate you to get up, energise you to get into action and get into momentum, then I don’t think it will take you a long way. You’ve got to want it so much you can imagine it happening and how great your going to feel when you achieve it.
Now you know this, go out and set your goal. Write it down. Stick it on your wall, put it on your computer. Be reminded of your goal and most importantly, take action on the strategy to achieve your goal. Most of all spend 5 minutes morning and night imagining your end result in every detail to keep your motivation high.