2024 is upon us. “New year, new me” right? Easier said than done in most cases. Almost everyone fantasizes about a fresh start to the new year with huge goals. While there’s nothing wrong with that, in today’s world, it’s too easy to become distracted with new priorities. Wanting a goal is one thing, but maintaining consistent habits to achieve that goal is a battleground. In this blog, I’m going to help you understand how to set SMART goals, plan for achievable milestones, and create sustainable, habits & discipline that will ACTUALLY set you up for success.
Setting SMART Goals
You’ve probably heard the acronym before – Specific Measurable Achievable Relative Timely. It may seem silly at first, but the first step to achieving a goal is to write it out. Sometimes multiple times in order to look it over with fresh eyes and be sure you have exactly what you want to work towards. You will mostly likely need to recruit a personal trainer to help you map out some of the details, especially ‘measurable’ and ‘timely’. Side note: I like to also use Realistic in place of the ‘R’. Your goals should be possible and within your means.
Here’s an example of a SMART goal I’ve had a client of mine write out:
Specific: “I want to lose 70 pounds and compete in a women’s physique competition.”
Measurable: “I want to lose 1-2 lbs per week.”
Achievable: “I’m committing to 2x/wk personal training, monthly nutrition coaching, and homework workouts.”
Relative: “I’m making this a priority with my finances and schedule to make this happen.”
Timely: “The competition I want to compete in is in October, 2024.” (this client has already lost 40lbs)
Try it out. Write up your 2024 SMART goal, bring it to me or another coach at Fit One Five and we can help you fill in the gaps.
Planning For Milestones
Setting milestones is my most successful tool I use with clients. The reason this works is it creates FOCUS. Like I said in the introduction of this blog, you’re likely flooded with distractions daily, weekly, monthly. Things happen. Life happens. I get it. What can keep you focused is setting achievable milestones along the way. Depending on your goal, I recommend setting weekly milestones. Having one daunting goal looming over your head WILL eventually feel overwhelming. Milestones will maintain your focus on the daily tasks.
Example: “I want you to consume 3 liters of water per day, eat 2000 calories per day, drink 2 protein shakes per day, and do 5 workouts this week, let’s expect to lose 1.5 lbs by next thursday.”
The objective is to focus on completing the tasks, one step at a time. Just check the boxes every day. Once that weekly milestone is completed, we set a new one. Every week, over and over again. Before you know it, 6 months have passed and you’ve either reached your goal or you’re very, very close.
Exercising Discipline
Let’s get real for a minute. You’re going to slip up. I’m not going to champion you and be proud for slip-ups. I’m also not supporting it… but it’ll happen. If you’re a Navy SEAL or Army Ranger, I’m sure you’ll be fine. But for the rest of us, let me lay the land. What you need to have is a STRUCTURE. By structure, I mean, you need to schedule your life, meals, workouts, mental deload. Here’s how I want you to attack this:
Open your calendar on your phone (if you use paper organizers, get with the times, haha!) and create recurring appointments with yourself. Depending on your goals and commitment, you’ll need at least 7-10 or more appointments per day. Title each task you need to complete for your milestones.
Example:
Monday
7:00 am – 400 Calorie Breakfast
8:00 am – Have Consumed 1 Liter of water
9:00 am – Personal Training Session With Austin
10:00 am – Drink 1 Protein Shake
12:00 pm – 700 Calorie Lunch (protein rich)
1:00 pm – Have Consumed 2 Liters of water
6:00 pm – 800 Calorie Dinner
7:00 pm – Have Consumed 3 Liters of Water
7:30 pm – 10 Minutes of Focused Stretching
8:00 pm – Journal / Meditate / Relish (in the success of winning the day)
Welcome 2024 with open arms and a winning mindset. If you follow these steps to create the foundation for success, you will undoubtedly change your life.
I am a phone call / text message away: (615) 869 – 8656. I would love to help you on this journey. Having a personal trainer in your corner to hold you accountable will change the way you attack each week.
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