By: @trainergabrielle
With 2022 being half way over, it’s the perfect time to review, reset, and refocus on your goals. In this article, I share five tips to help you achieve your goals and finish off the latter half of this year strong.
Set Long-Term and Short-Term Goals
With any kind of project, it is important to address the larger goal in mind followed by smaller goals to help you achieve it. This strategy helps you to identify your primary objective and strategize practical, incremental steps you can take to attain it. Let’s say your goal is to improve your quality of sleep. Your segmented goals may be to get a better-quality pillow, set fixed times for your bed time and morning alarm, exercising 30 minutes per day, and routinely incorporating activities into each day that help you to destress.
Be Specific about your Goals
Be specific; use numbers and exact-time frames. I like to use a SMART goal-setting framework which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. For example, if you plan to lose weight in the latter half of this year, do not simply write “weight loss” down on the list. Set a realistic timeframe for you to lose a number of kilograms. I know many people with this goal continuously fail every year simply because they aren’t specific about it. Obsessing over this can be toxic but being realistic and strategic can get you from A to Z, rather than it turning into another meaningless goal.
Find a Companion
One fun yet effective way to commit to a goal is to do it with a companion. If one of your goals for 2022 was to eat healthier, refocus on that goal now with a friend that is happy to share healthy recipes and cook together instead of eating out.
Get a Professional Help
This is a great step to take if you are serious about achieving a specific goal or a project you are not confident with. At the beginning of every year, I meet with several new personal training clients who plan to kickstart their fitness journey. They can professionally learn exercises and use unfamiliar gym equipment. This can be very helpful to solidify a fitness routine in the beginning stages and help you to stay accountable with a trainer.
Document your Journey
Social media can be a great tool when you can use it to document your journey with a particular goal. It’s also useful to connect with other similar accounts to share information and to socialize. Let’s say you wish to start yoga and you start sharing your very first yoga practice even though it may not be perfect. Over time, your social media account will have a library of your progress and experiences in your goal achievement. Moreover, your account can be an inspiration for many others to set goals for themselves. If sharing your progress on social media isn’t your thing, it is always encouraging to keep track of your own progress in other ways such as journaling or taking progress photos.
