My favorite season is officially here! It’s time to have fun in the sun and set some summertime goals.
To accomplish your goals, you need to know how to set them. You can’t simply say, “I want,” and expect it to happen.
Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve and ends with a commitment to hard work.
In between are some well-defined steps that will help you create healthy habits, and knowing these steps will allow you to set measurable goals.
SET GOALS THAT MOTIVATE YOU, AND ATTACH THEM TO LIFE EVENTS
Your goals should energize you with a jump-out-of-bed, stay-up-late at night kind of enthusiasm and move you in the direction you want to go. To keep you motivated, they must mean something to you.
Achieving your goals requires time and commitment. Write down why the goal is important to you. Will it improve your health? Help you live a well-balanced life? Create more time for you and your family? Find your why.
Whatever your goal, you must want it more than you don’t want it. For example, you may want to lose weight, but not enough to exercise regularly or sacrifice your favorite foods. You may want a promotion, but you’re unwilling to put in the extra hours.
Success comes when you hit a tipping point and find your grit. When you are sick and tired of being sick and tired and desire your goal more than you dread the cost, that’s when your dreams become attainable.
GET SMART
As you consider what you want to achieve, remember that your goals should be:
- Specific – Your goals must be well defined and crystal clear.
- Measurable – Include exact amounts, dates, benchmarks, etc. so you can measure your progress.
- Attainable – Be realistic and make sure your goal is achievable. If you set a goal you cannot reach, it will only deflate your motivation and strip you of your confidence.
- Relevant – Your goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life to take, from achieving optimal physical and mental wellness to aspirations for your career, family life, recreation, etc.
- Timebound (the most important) – This is one I have learned to live by, attaching a time and/or date to all my goals. You must set a deadline — not the end of summer, not September, but a specific date.
And a little reward doesn’t hurt. If I am planning a beach vacation and my goal is to lose 10 pounds by the event date, I celebrate reaching my goal by treating myself to a new outfit or fun piece of jewelry. Remember, both short-term and long-term goals need deadlines.
SET GOALS IN WRITING, AND POST THEM EVERYWHERE
Visual aids are my favorite motivation and can be so helpful. Print your SMART goals and post them on your vision board, filling them up with motivational quotes and pictures to inspire you. Visualizing your goals daily helps keep them in the forefront of your mind. As you write, use the word “WILL.”
Here’s to a healthy summer and achieving your summertime goals!
Karol Brandt is an executive host with Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort, as well as co-author of the Amazon best-seller “The Struggle is Real: Finally Break the Dieting Cycle, Transform Your Mind and Body, and Evolve into The Person You Have Always Wanted to Be” and the “30-Day Evolve Challenge Journal.” Contact Brandt by email at karol.brandt@scarletpearlcasino.com, Facebook/ The Struggle Is Real or Instagram at karolbrandtnola.
