GOALS

Goals. Everyone has them, but a lot of the time people don't ever meet them. Why do you think that is?  

I got to thinking about goals this week due to a training class I was in.   I attended a leadership class and we touched upon the subject of S.M.A.R.T. goals.  The instructor also discussed a survey or trial or study about incoming college students at a particular institute.  
Part of the study was for the students to start with some goals.   All of them were to make some goals. Some were to write them down and a portion of them were to use the SMART method.   Forgive me if I'm off a little on the numbers, but the study showed that 84% (almost all of those that used the smart goals and wrote them down) were successful.  
Again, I am totally paraphrasing and may have numbers wrong, but the point was made to me and sparked this topic.

What are S.M.A.R.T. goals you ask?
Specific. Measurable. Attainable. Relevant. Timely.

Ok, I've explained it, but what does that really mean.

 I'm going to lose weight next year.  
I'm going on a trip next year.
I want to save more money.
 
Think New Years Eve resolutions.  Everyone has them, how many follow through.

What you need to do when you have a goal is be specific about what you want. What are you going to do to obtain it? When are you going to obtain it?  Is your goal something your really want to do? Is it really something you can attain?   When do you want to reach that goal? Is it realistic?  Are you willing to be flexible with that time frame?

So with those examples above, using the SMART way, they would ready like:
I am going to lose 15 lbs by the end of May. I'm going to stop drinking pop and eat more fruits and vegetables and less junk food.    

I want to go on a European trip in August. I am going to start putting away X amount of dollars each pay. I'm going to research deals. I'm going to make sure I have a current passport. I'm going to make an appointment with a travel agent and have my reservations in 2 months.

I want to save an additional $500 the end of next year.  I'll put away $20 extra a pay (26 pays).

So now that you have an idea what a SMART goal is, it's also very important to write them down.

It also occurred to me that I hadn't made any such goals.  I was just TIRED of being fat.Tired of hurting. I wanted to be healthier.   Well, isn't that close to the goals I had the first time around???

So I need to make some goals. I won't put them all down here as some of them have yet to come.  I will start with a few however.

I want to be down 50 lbs from my July 2 weight by the end of August.  I am going to continue with the 21 day fix. I am going to continue to work with the 5lb weights until the end of this 21 days. I will reevaluate for September.
I am going to continue logging my food into MyFitness pal NO MATTER the type of day I am having. If I go over 1000 calories, I will log it.   I will not beat myself up if I have a bad day.  If it turns into 2 bad days of eating OR not working out and it is not illness related, I will contact my coach and work with her.

I would like to lose at least 100 more pounds by June 30, 2017.  I am going to continue with the tools I've been using to this point.  I will re-evaluate my tools and my goals in November.  I will work with my Coach to see what I have achieved and what we need to do to achieve this goal.