Did you know that statistics show that 9 out of 10 people who make their New Year's resolution to lose weight, fail? How sad. But I can tell you that I was in that group of 9 people for years, making a big, grand resolution that, "this would be the year that I was going to lose all my weight." Some years I would start strong, only to fade when it got hard or when I got tired. Usually, I was just to lazy to stick with it.
But I have learned that setting goals is a far better way to go than making grand resolutions. Of course, there is a right way to make goals if you want to be successful. It really breaks down to four easy steps:
- Set a clear, precise objective that you can reasonably achieve. Make this a small bite size goal, nothing grand or general. For example, your goal might be that you want to lose a great deal of weight. The small, attainable goal might be to lose two pounds a week.
- Set a deadline. For example, decide to weigh yourself every Thursday to check your progress.
- Prepare a plan of action. This might be something like, weight training twice a week and aerobics or cardio three times a week.
- Take action. To borrow a slogan from Nike, "Just do it."
And there you go. You have a large goal of losing weight, not very specific, and really too vague to be the only "plan". Instead of stopping there, you have broken it down into achievable steps, a time limit and plan for evaluating your progress, and a plan for the specific way that you will accomplish the small goal. Now, it is time to go get started.
I have taken a week to pray and analyze what my new goals should be for 2010. What better accountability than sharing some of them in my blog. On this journey, I have learned to make goals in every area of my life, not just fitness. My biggest goal is to daily spend quality time with my Lord, husband, and two daughters. In my homeschooling, my goal is to always have my planning done two weeks ahead of time. I also have the goal of keeping the house in order every day before starting school, and then doing a deep cleaning once, before the end of the week. One of my new big fitness goals is to be in a spin class by December, which I am now breaking into steps to accomplish. And just today, a new huge goal fell in my lap. My gym is having an 8-week weight loss contest. My goal is not only to compete in it, but to win it. So, I will definitely keep you posted on that one.
There is something that makes your goals more real if you write them down and share them with people. So this year, don't just have another failed, meaningless resolution. And join me on my path so that you will not only make grand plans for "getting healthier", but rather, setting achievable, specific goals that you can actually maintain. Then watch as you actually "get healthier."
P.S. One of my secret goals is to be a skinny, spandex person. Watch out, 2010 just may be the year.
