Setting Goals

A SMART goal is:

S-pecific

M-easurable

A-chievable
R-ealistic
T-ime-oriented

Specific: Your goal should be specific and clear. For example, rather than setting a goal to lose weight or get healthy, specify the amount of weight you want to lose or what specific activity you’d like to be able to do. The more meaningful, the better.

Measurable: Make your goal easy to measure. For example, rather than saying you want to have more energy, say that you want to be able to walk 18 holes of golf carrying a bag without being short of breath.

Achievable: Set a reasonable goal. If you’re overwhelmed, you probably won’t stick with it. But if you know you can reach it, you’ll find yourself excited by your progress.

Realistic: Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. If you set a goal of never having dessert again, you’re likely to rebel. Instead, decide that just for now, while you’re getting down to your healthy weight, you’ll do without dessert. If you want to have dessert later on, you can do so without guilt or feelings of failure.

Time-Oriented: Set a time for accomplishing your goal. I suggest that you make a timeline of activities.

During this 90-Day Health Transformation, we are setting goals, but understand thatreaching optimal health is a journey of a lifetime, and over time you will get better and better at reaching these landmark goals.

In addition to writing down the goals for your health transformation, you should write down all your goals—everything you want to achieve. Remember: It’s your choice, based on your fundamental desire for Optimal Health, or happiness, or whatever is most meaningful to you. Again, shift your focus from what you don’t want (being overweight or unhealthy) to what you do want (to be healthy and active). These goals are the key to keeping you on track as you perform the actions needed to reach them.

Once you write down your goals, write down the reason you chose those goals. Next, keep those goals nearby. Adding pictures to them will help to keep you on track, and so will posting these goals to this blog. Encouragement and support can help push your health to the next level.

Note: Refer to Creating Your Optimal Health Storyboard in Chapter 7 in DYOH for even more information!

Remember, visualize what optimal health will do for you, and use these goals to guide your daily decision making! Share your goals with your Health Coach or a friend so that he or she can better support your journey.  Setting goals is a good thing, but understand that reaching optimal health is a journey of a lifetime.

Be Specific

By now, you are well aware that health is a product of choices and that these choices can form Habits of Health or Habits of Disease. Reprogramming your habits takes time, and it can be a challenge, which is why we are doing a little bit at a time. Small steps are easier to manage and are more likely to be sustainable. I am hearing from some of you and you are already seeing a difference in your life from the daily changes that you are making. Isn't that motivating?

To continue breaking your connection to Habits of Disease, write down 10 recent choices that did not support optimal health. Be specific.  Below are some areas that you can evaluate:

• Healthy eating, including vita-nutrient support
• A healthy weight and a normal waist size
• An active lifestyle, including a daily activity program, a walking program, strength conditioning, flexibility, agility
• Recuperative sleep
• Relaxation
• A microenvironment of health
• Well-being, including social activities, limited stress, a sense of purpose and meaning, spiritual health, and personal fulfillment
• A support system

Once you have identified 10 choices that did not support optimal health, write down 10 "next-time" actions; the healthy choices that you plan to make the next time you face one of your 10 opportunities to choose between a Habit of Health or a Habit of Disease. If you get stuck on a next-time action, let me know and maybe I can help.