Top 10 Goal Setting Tips
Tip 1 - Have A Compelling "WHY?"

This is the first of our top goal setting tips and I would say the most important one (hence why it's number one on my list!)

As you think about your personal goal setting, you've probably got an idea of what it is you want to achieve in terms of improving your health and fitness e.g. stopping smoking, taking regular exercise, losing weight, etc, which is a good starting point. Now ask yourself this question:

"Have I got a compelling enough reason for doing this that will motivate me and see me through some of the challenges ahead?"

"Is my sense of purpose so strong that I will tackle any problems with relish rather than give up at the first hurdle?"

(OK, so that was 2 questions, but you get my point.)

One of the biggest mistakes people make when setting goals for health and fitness is that they don't find a big enough "WHY?". Let's explore this a little further.

If I ask any of my clients for the reason they want to achieve something, they can usually come up with an answer that seems like good common sense but it doesn't always resonate with them at a deeper level. For example someone may say their goal is to stop smoking because they will live longer. All the scientific studies and statistical evidence show that this is true for most people. So here we have one of many logical reasons to stop smoking, but does the smoker genuinely feel compelled and motivated to quit smoking? Often not.

The reason for achieving your health goal needs to strike home at a deeper level within you. Go beyond the logical reasoning to something that stirs you emotionally. Something that really meets your core values and beliefs. For example, how important is family to you? Seeing your children and grand children grow up and you being there to support them? How important is your freedom and independence? Having a good quality of life and not spending heaps of your time in hospitals or care centres?

We are all individuals and only you can decide what will give you a big enough "WHY?" but you do need to find it. Here's an exercise to help you do that...

Goal Setting Tips Exercise: Find a Compelling "WHY?"

In order to achieve your personal health goal, you will almost certainly need to make some changes to your current lifestyle and behaviours. The fact that you haven't done that yet, probably means that you are staying in your comfort zone which has a reasonable amount of pleasure attached to it. Not changing is what is creating your problem. In order to achieve your goal, you need to find the motivation to move out of your comfort zone. You can achieve this by understanding the increasing pain of choosing to stay where you currently are, and the increasing pleasure of changing then moving towards and achieving your new goal.

Consider the following questions carefully. Really get in touch with your emotions as you do this and notice how you feel - happy or sad? Excited or frightened?

Attaching Pain to Your Chosen Current Situation
When you think of your problem, what will this cost you if you don't change?
What is this problem already costing you mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually?
Ultimately, what will you miss out on in your life if you don't make the shift?
What will happen to you if you continue to behave this way?
How will not changing affect the people in your life that you care about?
Does holding on to this problem allow you to feel more empowered and capable in life?
When you think back to when you were younger, is this how you wanted to be?
Mentally time travel to the end of your lifetime on this planet - what are the long term consequences of not changing?
Is that how you want people to remember you?
Is holding on to this something you'd like your nearest and dearest to copy?

Whew! Feeling like you want to make that change yet? Then lets look at all the benefits of doing so...

Attaching Pleasure to Change
If you do change, how will that make you feel about yourself?
What positive differences will occur in your life?
What other things could you accomplish if you really made this change today?
How would this enable you to feel more empowered and capable in life?
What would be the long term ramifications on your life?
How would changing benefit you mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually?
Imagine yourself 15 minutes after successfully completing this change - how great do you feel?
Mentally time travel to the end of your life time on this planet - what did accepting the change do to save and enrich your life?
What impact does making these positive changes have on the people you care about?
How good does it feel having people remember you as someone who was capable and in control of their life?
How much happier will you be now?

I hope you've enjoyed exploring the first of my goal setting tips. To explore the others, please click on the links below:

Goal Setting Tips (2) - Decide WHAT you want
Goal Setting Tips (3) - Stretch yourself
Goal Setting Tips (4) - Be specific
Goal Setting Tips (5) - Believe it's possible
Goal Setting Tips (6) - Embed your goals
Goal Setting Tips (7) - Chunk it down
Goal Setting Tips (8) - Take action
Goal Setting Tips (9) - Prepare for obstacles
Goal Setting Tips (10)- Be flexible

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