Setting goals that appropriate for can be tricky. It’s easy to say that your goal is to lose 10 pounds, but it can be difficult to actually get there. Instead of focusing on discipline and motivation, we are going to take a different approach when it comes to setting goals.
When it comes to myself and my clients, I like to encourage that all goals have an outcome that you can control versus one that you can’t control. For example, let’s say your goal is to lose 5 pounds in 30 days. There is no way to control how much or how fast your body will lose weight, and you can become easily frustrated and discouraged when that goal is not met. Instead, what you can control is how consistently you exercised and what foods you ate over the last 30 days.
Some goals with outcomes that you can control would be:
- Consistently exercising 3-5 days per week
- Eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day
- Getting 6-8 hours of sleep every night
- Being just a little bit better
More specific goals with outcomes you can control would be:
- Consistently hitting your daily macro/calorie targets
- Consistently doing your strength training at the appropriate % of your max
- Hitting your sleep target every night
- Consistently doing your active recovery regimen
Focus your goal setting on building better habits around your current nutritional and exercise practices. When the emphasis gets put on building better habits and being as consistent as possible, you will likely see the outcomes that you desire such as: weight loss, inches lost, strength gains etc.
Whether your goals are fitness related or not, this tactic can be applied across the board in a variety of fields. So just remember the next time you plan to set goals, ask yourself if you can control the outcomes of them! I promise that with this approach you will find more joy and happiness on your current journey.
