Setting individual health goals can be a positive way to ensure you reach where you wish to be towards gaining optimum health.
When setting goals with my clients current and new I often find that the goals they are setting themselves are often to high and possibly unrealistic to achieve. A realistic goal takes into consideration the aspects of life that do take up our daily time and are part of our daily lifestyle; work commitments, family commitments, social commitments, pet commitments. As much as I am inspired by the initial goals they wish to set; my role is to set smaller step-by-step goals to lead up to the ultimate goal and to continue this pattern.
Do you ever write a list of things to do and then reach the end of the day only to find you are only half way down the list? Instead of feeling pleased for achieving half of your list it is more likely that you will be feeling frustrated for not completing the list. Perhaps you set yourself to many things in one day? You also need to consider any unpredicted disturbances i.e. phone ringing, neighbours calling round, urgent request at work, the dog needs walking…. life can get in the way.
Goals are more likely to be achieved if they are realistic to your lifestyle. The main factor of this is time and relevant guidance. For example if your goal is to lose 1 stone to take you to your ideal weight in 3 weeks you will be placing a high demand and pressure on yourself and your body and other important areas in your life. You may feel tired and stressed after 2 weeks or you may reach your goal after 3 weeks and then struggle to maintain the weight loss. The 3-week weight loss may not necessarily allow you time to understand the changes in your body and for you to understand the positive sides of the weight loss. Think about how long it has taken to gain the stone it is likely that it is longer than a 3-week period. Make sure you remain realistic with yourself as well as motivated or you may set yourself up for disappointment or feelings of failure.
As a society we are bombarded with quick fix diets and celebrity images of dramatic weight losses. These are not realistic representations of our everyday lives.
The same goes for exercise and fitness goals. If you have watched the London Marathon or Tour de France on the television and been inspired to start running or cycling after a few months or years of not moving you need to set yourself step by step goals to reach the end goal. The people you see running the London Marathon has spent months training to get to the actual marathon.
The correct knowledge, time management and patience will take you to achieving goal after goal after goal. As the saying goes we need to walk before we can run and enjoy the journey.
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