In today’s episode of the podcast, we discuss how to effectively set your intentions for the new year and we go through some goal setting strategies so that this year, you do actually accomplish your goals.
Podcast Summary Points:
We can really only speak to health and fitness-related stuff, but the same thought processes and methods apply to almost every other area you wish to set goals in (ie languages, education, business, family etc)
It makes sense to make a list of your goals and then spend some time actually plotting out your time and seeing how much time you actually allocate to your “priorities”. This very often surprises people.
Being Clear In Your Goals
What should your focus be?
- health
- body composition
- performance
These are the three main areas that people focus on when discussing this stuff. So do you have goals related to each of these, or are you prioritising one or the other? Are you aware of and ok with the trade-offs of focusing on one versus another? Are you in a position to even work on a certain goal, or do you have to lay some groundwork first?
What do we mean by health?
- Physical Health
- Mental Health
- Psychosocial Health
What do we mean by body composition?
- Muscle mass
- Body fat
What do we mean by performance?
- Physical performance (i.e. strength, speed, skills etc)
- Mental performance
- Ability to live vigorously every day
How To Not Fail
Spend some time and actually map out your goals.
- Long term (the general trajectory of your life)
- Medium term (3-5 years)
- Short term (1-3 years)
- Very short term (6-12 months)
SMART goal setting:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Specific Goals: You want very clear specifics around what you are working towards.
Process Goals: What does the actual day-to-day look like? What are the habits that will allow you to accomplish the specific goal?
The WHY: Why do you want to achieve this goal?
Priority List: Write out your priority list. What actually matters to you? Why does it matter to you? This is a simple step, but it really does help. You learn how to better allocate your time because you have a clear priority list, and you have a clear rationale for why you are doing the things you are doing, or at least why you are working towards these goals.
Troubleshoot potential barriers to the goal.
- Ask yourself do you actually know what is required to achieve your goals. If you don’t, find people who do, or information you can trust and follow. Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power.
- Are your family/friends on board with these goals?
- Are there events/situations that you know may be a potential barrier?
- Are there times of year that simply aren’t good for you to be working on these goals (i.e. busy work periods)?
- What has worked for you before and what hasn’t?
Map out an actual calendar of events and deadlines for your goals. The more concrete you can be, the more likely you are to do the things you want to do. Everyone skips this step, and it really is the key. It is easy to write a list of things you want to accomplish, and there is a reason people write the same things each year.
Norcross, J. C., Mrykalo, M. S., & Blagys, M. D. (2002). Auld lang syne: success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year’s resolvers and nonresolvers. Journal of clinical psychology, 58(4), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.1151
Dickson, J. M., Moberly, N. J., Preece, D., Dodd, A., & Huntley, C. D. (2021). Self-Regulatory Goal Motivational Processes in Sustained New Year Resolution Pursuit and Mental Wellbeing. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(6), 3084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063084
Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., & Rozental, A. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PloS one, 15(12), e0234097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234097
Höchli, B., Brügger, A., & Messner, C. (2020). Making New Year’s Resolutions that Stick: Exploring how Superordinate and Subordinate Goals Motivate Goal Pursuit. Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 12(1), 30–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12172
Höchli, B., Brügger, A., & Messner, C. (2018). How Focusing on Superordinate Goals Motivates Broad, Long-Term Goal Pursuit: A Theoretical Perspective. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 1879. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01879
Bailey RR. Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2017;13(6):615-618. Published 2017 Sep 13. doi:10.1177/1559827617729634 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6796229/
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