From Sharp Health News, a publication of Sharp HealthCare
As a new year approaches, it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. However, sometimes when setting health and wellness goals, we tend to be overambitious.
We set a goal to lift a certain amount of weight or lose a certain number of pounds, only to step into the gym once and never return. How can we prevent ourselves from burning out and losing track of our goals?
Try these tips:
- Understand your “why.”
The key to setting goals is making sure they are SMART — specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. To find a goal that fits this criteria, it’s important to know your “why.” Identify your goal and then ask yourself why you’ve chosen that goal until you get to the root of your motivation — your “why.” Understanding why your goals matter can help keep you focused and make broad goals more specific and achievable. - Don’t just focus on numbers.
Designing your goals around specific numbers, such as your ideal weight, can be too rigid. This could cause you to get easily frustrated when the results do not show right away. Instead, center your goal on behavior changes that can help you become healthier in the long run. - Break it down.
Break down your goal into small, easy steps or mini goals. For example, if you’re aiming to walk 10,000 steps a day, start with 5,000 and work your way up from there. - Have an accountability partner.
Share your progress with a friend to help keep you motivated. This can also make working out a fun social activity, rather than something you feel like you have to do.
Sticking to goals is challenging for everyone. So it’s important not to feel discouraged if you fall behind. Above all, it’s vital not to beat yourself up if you get off track.
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