Aiming High- Goal Setting

GOALS are the structure to a successful future. They are the things that push us when we have had enough. Goals are what making everything worth doing. Whether you call the Goals, Plans, Resolutions, or etc. You are creating something you want to accomplish.

There are RIGHT and WRONG ways to create goals. You never wanna go over board and create a goal that is unrealistic, like climbing Mt. Everest, when you have never even owned a pair of tennis shoes.    Be REAL- this is between you, an what you want for yourself! You must always set obtainable goals. When you set your self up for unrealistic goals, thats when they end up failing. I always like to aim high, but I also have a structure to my goal setting and here it is:

Make a short list of things you want to accomplish this year. You can create a spread sheet, write it in a notebook, or just put it on post it notes. The only key here is to place them somewhere that they will constantly be a reminder of what you have originally decided on accomplishing this year. Remember this is a short list. So dont go crazy, you only have 1 year to reach these goals. I always still like to aim high, but I always make sure they are goals that are attainable within a year. Always take account what is already going on in your life too, if your working 2+ jobs, or have kids, or travel alot, or are a student, or etc, these goals must be able to fit in your currently lifestyle. Yes, the point is to make a change, but you cannot just suddenly drop everything to go after your goal. (If you can, more props to YOU!) Here is an example of my goals for this year:

•  Compete in my first figure show
•  Petition/Get accepted for Nursing Clinicals
•  Do a Fitness photoshoot

Those are my 3 main goals for 2012. I suggest having no more than 3-8 big goals. The amount of goals you have are completly up to you, just make sure you set yourself up to complete all your yearly goals.

Next are steps to making these goals a reality. Now, we really start breaking these goals down. Answer the who, what, where, when, why, how questions. By answering these questions you have now began to develope your plan.

Putting your plan into action. Now we must begin to put these goals into action so at the end of the year you can check off each goal. I like to constantly create new small goals every month that ofcourse apply to my original goal. Doing these short term goals will be more exciting and rewarding, because you can see your progress within a smaller amount of time. This is also how you can keep yourself motivated. You can have daily goals(no desert today), weekly goals(I'll get to the gym everyday this week), and/or monthly goals(I want to gain/loose 4lbs). Either way, WRITE them all down. By writing these down they become more of a reality, and you are more likely to accomplish them. You can also tell someone about your goal(s). I love this, I always tell someone about my goal, it creates a sense of responsibility then, like they are going to hold you accountable as well. Be careful who you tell though, there are many who will break you down, dont let them! If this happens to you, just say I'll show you, and continue with the plan. Whatever you choose to do, just always keep your eye on the prize and work towards your goals daily!