When it comes to committing to your health goals, there are a few important evidence-based strategies and concepts to consider and remember. Setting a good and reasonable goal is challenging; living out the goal is tougher. Goals are personal and not to be taken lightly if you want to make a permanent change.
Why is setting health goals important?
What is the reason for setting the goal? Take some time to think about why the goal is important to you. What will happen when you achieve the goal or make it a habit? Will the goal bring you closer to a better version of yourself? Will the goal improve your life and if so, how? It may be helpful for you to write down your reasons, share them with someone, and look at them frequently on your journey to remind yourself of your reasons why.
Key strategies for developing achievable health goals
1. Schedule your health goals into your calendar.
A great strategy, both short term and long term, is to schedule the activity into your calendar. Basically, you treat the behavior as any other important appointment in your day. It’s important to keep to that appointment with yourself.
For example, if your goal is to exercise for 30 minutes, read a book for 10-15 minutes, or take a 5-minute deep breathing/mindfulness break, schedule it. Don’t allow people to book over the appointment. (This is boundary setting and another topic for discussion!) Let’s say you want to eat more fruit during the day. While your behavior won’t have a time block on your calendar, set an e-reminder to press pause and grab a quick snack.
2. Develop solutions to potential barriers.
Let’s say the day has gotten away from you. Things got busy, you missed your appointment with yourself, and you were pulled in multiple directions. What might be an alternative for you? If you were not able to exercise, can gardening be the alternative? Perhaps you weren’t able to read. Can you listen to a podcast in the car instead? If you didn’t get to the 2 pieces of fruit you wanted to eat, how about 1 piece with dinner? These substitutions are a plan B, which you can think about in advance. This way, you are prepared for those days where you didn’t reach your goal. Basically, you are developing a solution to a potential barrier, and still able to work towards your goal. Some progress is always better than no progress.
3. Track the behavior you’re trying to change or develop.
A tried-and-true strategy in behavior research is tracking the behavior. You can track and monitor behavior through various modalities: apps, journals, good old fashioned notebooks, excel worksheets – there are plenty of ways. Tracking is not easy, and we can forget to track a behavior. But when we track, we are able to see action associated with the behavior. Monitoring can help us see gaps, successes, and set new health goals. And, monitoring and tracking is not an activity that is only associated with a new behavior change. Many people track behavior long-term, like with fitness wearables, which helps with exercise behavior adherence.
4. Work with someone who will keep you accountable to your health goals.
What is helpful to many individuals during behavior change is finding an accountability partner. This may be a friend, family member, or an acquaintance to help you adhere to the behavior. The person can provide feedback, be supportive, or even go through the behavior change with you.
5. Stop comparing yourself to others.
This is a tough one for adults. Someone will always be faster and stronger than you. There is nothing wrong with that. Remind yourself that everyone you get inspiration from started somewhere. With effort and perseverance, they worked their way to where they are today. Focus on yourself and the commitment you made to your health goals.
6. Remember that behavior change takes time.
Having all of your goals laid out in front of you may be highly motivating but reaching them never happens overnight. Instead of focusing solely on the big picture, split your journey down into smaller milestones. Recognize the small wins and celebrate every victory, big or small.
7. Reward yourself.
Rewards can be highly motivating. They can be big or small, frequent or less frequent. You decide. What motivates you? How often do you need that motivation? A reward may be “a job well done” or a gift or token you purchase and enjoy. Rewards can be endless.
Do you need help setting or achieving realistic health goals? Reach out to me today and explore how health and wellness coaching can help you along the pathway to success.
