{and help you to become the person that you want to be}
We've all been there.
3 weeks into the new year and that list of resolutions is crumbled up and thrown into the trashcan. Better luck next year.
Who am I kidding, this happens on day 2, right?!?
I became so numb to the idea of New Year's Resolutions that I stopped making them. I gave up on improving myself. I gave up on living a life better than the one I was currently living.
But then I realized: I was doing it all wrong. There was no way that these lofty goals would ever make it to see February the way I had always done in the past. I had to be better at choosing my resolutions so that I met my yearly goals.
I want to give you my best tips to designing your own resolutions that will lead to a life that you desire and help you reach your dreams.
I want you to set goals and crush them. What will happen if you don't give up? Set a goal that makes you want to jump out of bed in the mornings. And as always: Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your heart on fire.
Tip 1: Divide your life into categories
After reading the Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, I started looking at my life goals and differently. Rather than just lumping everything into one giant list, I have divided the major areas of my life into categories.
My categories are:
Spiritual
Family
Financial
Physical / Health
Career
Action Step: You should look at your own life and decide how to categorize the major areas of your life. Write down your categories.
Tip 2: Make a SMART goal in the categories you want to improve
When I learned this method of goal setting in one of my business classes in college, I was a little obsessed. It is so simple and makes all the difference. A SMART goal is one that is
Specific
Measurable
Attainable/Achievable
Relevant
Timely
Specific
Be very specific and don't be vague. Describe your exact: who is involved, what you are doing, why are you doing it, and where will you do it.
Measurable
Make sure that your results are measurable. Rather than saying "run more" say "run 2 times per week" or "train to run a marathon in October."
Attainable
Make sure that your goal is not out of reach or below what you should be able to accomplish. For instance, if don't make a goal to jump off your roof and fly to the moon using only your arms. Yes, that was a silly example, but it serves the purpose. It isn't attainable. Humans can't fly without the use of outside equipment.
Relevant
Is the goal worthwhile? Will this goal take you closer to who you want to be as a person? Will this goal take you closer to your overall life goals?
Timely
Most of our 2018 resolutions are for 2018. Easy. However, think about specific items. My goal for 2018 is to run a 5k, a Spartan run, and a marathon. I already know that there is a 5k color run in my area in March, so I wrote that I want to run a 5k in March. Once I complete that goal, I'll schedule my Spartan run followed by the marathon.
Action step: Write a SMART goal for each category. Want help? Feel free to contact me and send me your goals. I can help you write your goals.
Tip 3: Make an action plan
Go back to each SMART goal. Under my physical category, I have 2 SMART goals:
Run a 5K in March, Spartan in the early fall, and marathon by December 31.
Switch my diet to Keto for 6 out of 7 days a week. Can cheat on holidays.
Let's talk about my goal: Run a 5K in March, Spartan in the early fall, and marathon by December 31. So, we need to make an action plan. Basically an action plan is taking your major goal and breaking it into smaller action steps that are easier to manage. As of today, a marathon is impossible for me. I cannot run 26 miles. Not today. Nope. BUT, I can, if I break it up, and honestly, that is why I wrote it they way I did. That 5k in March? That will be my first step and victory towards reaching the marathon. The Spartan run? Today it sounds intensely crazy and impossible, but it will be the next victory towards the marathon.
So what are some action steps for this goal?
Schedule a time to run, stretch, walk, strength train, or take kids to park (and play with them) 7 days a week. This sounds like A LOT at first, but after learning a little about myself and how to form habits, I realized that I cannot skip days.
Make sure that I have everything I need for a workout: appropriate shoes, socks, pants/shorts, shirt, workout music {check out my station here}, headphones that fit and stay on your head and in your ears.
Make a workout plan: plan my 5k training schedule & include strength training, stretch/yoga days, and park days. Park days could be something like cross training or playing a game of ultimate.
Action Step: Write out your action plans for each SMART goal. Need help? I'd love to help! Send me an email and I'll gladly help your write your plan.
