Hopefully you are off to a solid start on your 2017 goals. I would venture to say that many are as we are still in the first month. But if you haven’t started to put those goals into action yet, it’s not too late! Setting the goals is the easy part; starting them and following through with what you want to achieve is the challenge, or mountain, in front of you.
Goal-Setting Questions to Ask Yourself
Before you begin looking at some steps to take to put your goals into action, you first must ask yourself some important questions. Take a few moments to ask yourself these:
- What are my long-term goals and are they realistic?
- What short-term goals do I need to put in place in order to achieve those?
- And hopefully you have already started, but if not, what are my action steps to get started?
Maybe after answering these questions you realize that you need to tweak your goals a little bit or potentially the path to get there. Take time to do that and set yourself up for success!
Steps for Reaching Your Goals
Now that you have answered some defining questions, let’s take a look at some steps that will help you take those goals and make them successful.
- Set your eyes on the target and keep them there! It’s easy to get distracted or thrown off track if you begin to slip up and become unfocused from your goals. By keeping your eyes at the center of the target, the goals are much more achievable from there.
- Figure out what steps are needed to hit the bull’s-eye! You may need to break down the larger steps into daily goals, or action steps. When the larger goal is broken down into smaller ones, it makes it easier to get to the top. Imagine trying to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. If you skipped every other step, it would be a lot harder to get to the top than if you took each step one by one!
- Follow through with those action steps. Make sure you find out what helps you to be accountable and follow through with the steps that are in place. If you have a blockade in the way, go around and find what the next action steps to take are.
Be sure to evaluate as you go. If you need to make changes, do it! Things will come up and alter your course. Just take some time to evaluate as you go and make sure that you are headed straight for that bull’s-eye and don’t get off the path!
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Maybe one of your goals was to complete your first 5K or spring half-marathon. Now is the time to put those goals into action. Join us for our NIFS Mini-Marathon and 5K Training Program that starts the last Wednesday of this month.
This blog was written by Amanda Bireline, Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.