Goals: Making, achieving, celebrating!

Let's take a break from the holidays, shall we? Just for a minute, I promise we'll get back to the fun soon.  I want to talk to you a little bit about goals for next year.

I love making goals.  My imagination knows no bounds when it comes to thinking up all kinds of nutso scenarios in which I defy the laws of physics and become some kind of uber-ripped, totally lean, muscle-popping, super-fit machine.  And because I honestly believe that I really can do just about anything I want to, well, I make it a goal!  And I make a plan!

And I execute that plan!

But the plan doesn't work because it was completely ridiculous.

I make the kinds of plans that go something like this: "I'm going to exercise every single day and eat really really healthy and by virtue of my hard work, I will be rewarded with a totally excellent bod that supports everything I want to do every day all day no matter what!" *beam*

Goals are great, ya know?  They're even better when they're based in reality.  You know, goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Action-based, Realistic, and Time-bound.  That R gets me every time.

You can read more about SMART goals here, but the basics are pretty profound: the chance that your goal will be achieved increases exponentially when it is:

Specific: more than "lose weight." Try "lose x% body fat."  Or "reduce cholesterol below 200."
Measureable: you can manage what you can measure...on a scale, through assessments, etc.
Action-based: specifically what will you do to get there?  Put some numbers to it!
Realistic: okay, what specifically what will you ACTUALLY REALLY DO to get there?
Time-bound: give yourself a deadline - a realistic one.

Do you have any goals for next year you can apply this to?  Give it some thought!  It's worth the time it takes to figure this out, trust me!

Okay, we're done.  Back to the holidays. Tomorrow we'll tackle that R word...

Good day! :)