photo credit: Celestine Chua via photopin cc
I have never been a big goal setter. I didn’t like ‘em. They never worked for me. And then I became a Certified Health and Wellness Coach and I learned why.
Being motivated to change is not enough. According to Wellcoaches®,”… motivation alone, without a clear fitness, health, or wellness plan, does not propel clients into action and often withers in the face of adversity.” To be successful with a goal, you’ve got to know how ready you are to move forward. Goals need to meet you at your stage of change. For example, if you are in the early stage of change, a goal to increase physical activity may be something like walking for 15 minutes three times per week. Even though your intention to change is so great that you want to run a a 10K, from a behavioral standpoint, you are not ready to run the several days per week that is required to run a 10K. Once you have been successful with this preliminary goal, then you can increase duration,days per week or even intensity. It is sort of like a staircase progression; slow and steady wins the race. This is where many people drop out of the game. They simply start doing too much too soon, get discouraged, quit, and feel bad about the whole darn thing. Goals really serve the purpose to foster self-confidence and self-efficacy which will then propel you forward to a more active life.
There are two types of goals: cognitive and behavioral. Cognitive goals are more appropriate for those who are in the earlier stages of change. Examples of a cognitive goal are, “I will make a list of the pros and cons for getting more active.” or “I will write down my thoughts and emotions when I eat over the next week.” Behavioral goals are those that make changing behavior manageable. For example, a goal of walking for 20 minutes before work twice per week is an example of a behavioral goal.
Another helpful concept for goal setting is that of short term and long term goals. Think about what you want to achieve in three months first. What is your vision for yourself? Then, create short-term goals to move you in that direction. These weekly goals are the small manageable steps to move you toward your three-month vision. Weekly goals must be specific, measurable, action and time-based. To create goals for a more active life, follow these steps:
- Make the goal relevant to how ready you are to become active.
- Be specific and detailed in your goal statement.
- Review how confident you are to achieve that goal (on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being extremely confident). An answer of 7 or above will set the stage for success.
- Set your support system up for success. For example, have your shoes by the door, in the car or under your desk.
- When the week is over, ask yourself what the best part of the week was, where you had success, where you were unable to meet the goal, determine why and what you learned from the experience and what you can do differently over the next week.
Now if you will excuse me, I am going to go for a 60-minute walk with my dogs. Their leashes and my shoes are by the door. Over and out.