New year, new you, right? Everyone is saying it but are you really ready to be the one who actually accomplishes it this year?
My name is Amanda Bentow and today I will give you the steps to be able to create effective goals and action plans that help you move forward and accomplish those goals this year.
So are you ready for it? Step one is to create a specific goal. You have to be able to visualize the goal that you are about to accomplish. You have to be able to see it! Otherwise we’re just working toward who knows what?! And that’s not effective. It’s not motivating and it certainly isn’t anything that’s worth keeping you on track. So if you feel like your goals are too vague are you can’t really see what it looks like, get more specific. Narrow it down and find something that truly resonates with you. Something that you can see. I’ts a little more tangible to you. Set a timeline that’s appropriate. And part of setting a timeline has to do with how important that goal is. Where does it fit within the rest of the priorities in your life? If it’s not something that you can make time for then don’t sell a really aggressive goal for being able accomplish it. But if you do have a really aggressive goal, you’ve gotta make space in your schedule to be able to do the things that will help you accomplish our goal.
Step two is to connect with the WHY that really matters to you. Find the deep motivation. It’s gotta be something intrinsic. You can create some extrinsic rewards or those things – the prizes that you earn or the things that you reward yourself with when you accomplish a goal or when you complete the task that move you to your goal, but your deep motivation for wanting to accomplish the goal needs to be something that truly burns in your belly. It gives you that feeling of excitement and energy. Because if you don’t have that, if that not connected to the goal that you set out to achieve, then you have no motivation for wanting to endure when the going gets tough. Because accomplishing this goal that you set for yourself is not going to be easy every day. It’s not going to be a smooth sail just from where you’re at today until the point that you accomplish a goal. So you have to really find the motivation that helps you endure through the difficult times.
Step 3: Get really clear about what it’s going to take to accomplished your goal. There some things that you will be required to do every day to be able to make progress toward your goal. Other things, you just need to create a giant to do list of things that you need to accomplish. And you can start checking those things off one at a time. So, for example, if you have a fitness goal, there are some things that you need to do every day – exercise, eat healthy…all those things that are required to do daily to be able to get your goal. But there are some other things are maybe challenges and barriers that stand in your way. Maybe it’s the fact that you don’t know what healthy eating looks like or what that even means, and you don’t know what kind food or how much. And, “Do I pay attention to calories, or fat?” Then put that on your to do list – to do some research and find out what you need to be eating on a regular basis. So create a giant to-do list for yourself. Just brainstorm all the things that you know need to be done – all the questions that need to researched, or even just a list of things that you don’t know and you just need to start asking some questions.
Number four: Create scoreboard for yourself. This is.. remember those things that you’re going to do on a daily basis? Every day you can give yourself points or check off the box you’ve accomplished those things. It’s gonna keep your attention focused on the things that you need to do daily. Because the problem is that most people have their focus – their main focus – is on the goal that they want to accomplish. Or a lot of people will will step on the scale, if they have a fitness goal, but they’re stepping on that scale multiple times during the day, and guess what?! It’s not moving! If anything, it’s going up because of the stress that they’re putting on themselves from constantly checking that. But if instead, they would put focus toward knowing whether or not they’ve worked out that day, or paying attention to the foods they’ve eaten and tracking those things, they’re going to make so much more progress toward their ultimate goal. But don’t focus on the outcome goal that you set for yourself. Focus on the daily actions – the daily activities that are required to make progress toward your goal.
And number five: Set an appointment to revise your plan. So when you created your list of daily activities and the things that are going to get you to your goal, set an appointment – maybe two weeks out – to be able to revise that. So get started with it, and then set a date to find out whether or not you think you’re making progress and you’ll see where you need to make adjustments. What is actually fitting in your life and what seems like, well maybe it was a good idea at the time by it doesn’t actually fit and I need to make some adjustments.
Once you’ve gone through those five steps, you have a clear goal in mind, you know when it’s going to take to get there, you’re connected to your deeper motivation – you have a scoreboard that keeps you accountable on a regular basis, and you have a plan in place that you can revise and make changes to as you need to, you are set to start out the new year with a really clear goal and action plan.
I know that a lot of people give advice about how to set goals and what to do with new year’s resolutions, and if it was so easy, as just following five simple little steps, everybody would have accomplished their goals already.
So the reality is that when we get into our individual circumstances, it’s helpful to have someone else take a look for us and give some feedback about what might be working and what might need a little tweaking. I’d love to jump on the phone with you and offer a free goal consult for your fitness goals in 2015.
So go ahead and click the link below and schedule your time to connect with me, or just send me a message and we can talk more about what you’d like to see and make sure that you have a specific action plan in place so that you accomplishes your goals.
Have a wonderful new year and I’ll talk to you soon.