Setting health goals:
The 3 factors for success

Setting health goals is something I've done since I was a young girl, and have had plenty of experience in failing to reach them! Time after time I'd fall on my butt trying to achieve them. I felt pretty apathetic about setting and achieving health goals in general and my butt hurt! Since I felt okay in general and was very busy living my life, I wound up not even setting any good health goals for many years.

But after I had a couple of serious health setbacks, I saw the value in goal setting for fitness, wellness and health. I had a real need to improve my health and energy levels. That was my first real health and fitness goal - to improve my health and energy after having a stroke and heart attack.

Click here to share your health goals!

I had been on a ton of prescription drugs and was definitely not feeling healthy or energetic! I really needed and wanted to feel better. I realized then that the most important factor in setting health goals for myself was that good health goals are those that are really real to you.

Not a "should do" - such as "you should quit smoking" or "you should exercise 42.5 minutes each day for it to be effective" - if you've ever achieved a "should do" goal, I'm interested in how you did it without going nuts!

I also realized that goal setting for fitness, wellness and health followed the same principles of goal setting AND ACHIEVEMENT as any other type of goal setting. There are essentially 3 aspects to successful goal setting:

1. Name the goal
2. Want the result
3. Know how to get the result

Absence of or vagueness in any of the above 3 steps in setting health goals (or any goal!) will result in some degree of failure to attain it. And it will be a lot harder and take a lot of extra effort, mentally and physically, to make any progress.

We've talked a little about wanting the goal above. Now let's name our health goals and look at wanting and how to attain them. If we don't accurately name what we want, it will be very difficult indeed to work out how to attain them.

Sharing your health goals here is not for the purpose of "being accountable" - I hate that attitude, it's like I can't be responsible for myself. Excuse me??

Some benefits of sharing and setting health goals here are:

• You can get it "out of your head" and take an objective look at it, see if it's really realistic or not
• You can help and be helped and supported in the attainment of your health and fitness goal
• You can share your successes in setting and attaining your health goals - you may need practice validating yourself for your successes along the way - that's okay!

  Acknowledgement and validation are key components of staying motivated, and you may not get it from your family or friends who don't share similar goals. You are the best source of validation for your successes.

The third step of setting health goals is having a method that works. This site and our health and wellness newsletter will help you do it without complexity or confusion!

Cheers!

Share your health goals!

What would you love to achieve regarding your health and well-being?

Is this a new goal or one you've made a few times in the past? What successes have you had in achieving your health goals in the past?

What keeps you motivated in working towards attaining them? Or do you start out with a lot of determination but fizzle out after a while? What frustrates you when it comes to improving your health and achieving your health goals?

I invite you to share your health goals and resolutions to get a fresh perspective on them.

Click below to read other people's health improvement experiences and comment if you can relate or help!

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