Goals, we all need them but how do we make them stick?

[Tandahda]

Ah new years. Time of new resolution and resolve. Why does it always burn away so quickly?

I've got a theory, (as do many other people on the internet) that it has something to do with the fact that we set unattainable, unimaginable, and abstract goals for ourselves.

An example of an abstract goal is "I want to lose weight."

There is no plan, and there certainly is no promise to change actions that have lead to the problem, and so this goal may not be achieved.

Our goals become unimaginable when we leave them off for a whole year and don't set up a plan for success. We're left with a giant goal and though our brains are brilliant thinkers when defining that we will be at a certain place at a date in the future, when we don't leave trail markers, we often get lost.

And lastly our goals do become unattainable when we let abstraction and distraction take us from goals that seem so far away. A year is not a lot of time (oddly enough. >.>) When we push for them so hard that our goal is the only thing on our mind and we let the rest of 'life' pile up around us, our goals have a way of disappearing under the strain that we have created.

A good thing to do would be to create a few over all goals, one year goals. Concrete goals are things that you can feel touch and see. They might be big, they might be moderate. But be reasonable. Goals that you can't achieve do more to hurt you than to motivate you. Shoot for just a bit past your comfortable range,

For example. I think I can lose 30 lbs this year, I'm trying to lose 45ish. Losing 30 lbs would have me at 150, thinner than I've ever been. Losing 40 lbs would put me at 140 (which is like a dream I'll have you know). For my shape and size, I would be in the lower middle of my BMI at 125. But shooting to lose 55 lbs in a year is not something I think I can do, especially because I don't feel I've got a long way to go left seeing as I started at 230 lbs.

I prefer to chose fitness goals for my one year goals because that's just how I roll. : P I chose to be able to bike 100 km in a day. (To visit my parents actually. : P)

The next part is 90 day goals. I've got the most of these because they have a fairly quick and easy flow, and I can compete four of them in a year. This creates new goal dates to review and recenter your path to where you want to go. April 1rst. July 1rst. October 1rst. These are all new goal dates for you if you've got 90 day goals.

Good 90 day goals are fitness and shape related. To be a dress size or two smaller, or to complete a fitness program (which conveniently enough are often 90 days long or close enough to that)

The last part are daily and weekly goals, they're the things that you can mess up on once in a while, the little tweaks that you will need to complete to be able to do your 90 day and 1 year goals.

Because I want to ride 100 km in a day by the end of the year I'm starting off with fitting 30 km per week into my schedule. (my 90 day goal is to visit a friend of mine the next town over on bike, which will be a 35 km trip)

What kind of goals do you want to see?  

[Goldenlici]

I do want to loose weight, but my New Year's resolution is a little bit different. My resolution is to post my food/exercise journal everyday regardless of whether it was a good day or a horrible day. That way, I can at least see what I am doing and maybe start changing even the littlest of bits.

I'm hoping that by not focusing on weight loss persay I may actually be able to lose weight because I am focusing on something that in itself doesn't have a good or bad connotation. I just post, everyday, and it doesn't have to be good or bad.  

[Stars in my Pocket]

My overall goal is to be happier with myself, because I either totally let myself go or obsess and neither is healthy at all. I want to be able to find that magical, happy medium and I think if I work on fitness and just "do right by myself", I'll end up happy. Satisfy the whole body, not just the taste buds, you know?

By March 15, I want to lose 16lbs. It may or may not happen but I want to be on the right track.
I'm trying to drink a lot more water, too, and to exercise more at all, on days that I'm not riding.

I have not-weight goals too that I'm working for, and it's all about the baby steps (moving forward!).

Overall goal: Find the happy medium
Q1: Lose weight, choose foods more wisely, drink lots of water
Q2: Maintain that lifestyle (this is where I have trouble!)
Q3: Begin to wean self off of sodas/carbonation
Q4: No more soda!


Goldenlici, that's a really good goal. *adopts it* C: <3 Oh! And also to be more active in this guild, posting in others' journals and encourage posting in mine too! It's all about the support!  

[Goldenlici]

Support is good for any resolution and for getting rid of stress.

Stars, 16 lbs by March should be doable. I will help any way I can mrgreen  

[Stars in my Pocket]

Aw thanks. ;o; <33  

[Tandahda]

Stars, I like your gradual goal setting (are those divided into quarters?)

I'm loving the lateral goal making here. I've definitely found that when I focus on weight loss I'm not a happy person and everything is hard, that's why I'm focusing on a huge fitness goal mostly and trying to trim up my eating habits to be as healthy and nutrition'd as I can be to achieve that goal.

I've got a few frivolous ones like shrinking the inches of the gap in my wedding dress, but ... well, I really need to do that. : P  

[Stars in my Pocket]

Yeah, it's divided into quarters. :]
It'll help if I have goal, maintain, new goal, maintain. Maintenance is always the hardest for me.