“I’ll do this, that, the other this year and really smash it!”…

 

3 months in and you’re back to the previous years habits. We’ve all seen it a thousand times before and no one wants to see a rerun unless it’s Raiders of the lost ark.

 

The key is to make S.M.A.R.T.E.R goals and only pick 3 main goals until you complete them.

S.M.A.R.T.E.R is an enhanced version of your S.M.A.R.T goals and I find it more effective. The acronym stands for:

Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time bound, Ethical, Reward.

You can even have your own version and change it slightly as long as it follows the same line of thinking and actions.

Let me give an example of a goal many people will have this year: to lose body fat. 

• Specific:

When you write your goal, writing down lose weight in 2016 simply isn’t specific enough and it has no real completion goal. Is losing 1% body fat in a year what you want when you’re 30% overweight? Probably not.

You need to write down an exact number of body fat you want to lose (e.g 10%, how you’re going to do it (hire a coach by 10th Jan), why you’re doing it (give yourself a damn good reason why you’re doing it like you want to feel sexy again or increase your energy), who will be involved with your goal and where you’ll need to go to achieve this goal.

• Measurable:

As above, set yourself an exact percent of body fat to reach. Not only that but track your progress and adapt accordingly.

• Agreed:

This goal must be agreed with everyone involved. For instance if your spouse disagrees with the amount of time you’d need to spend in the gym to accomplish this fat loss mission… Divorce them. I’m joking but you get the picture, this goal is very important to you and achieving it means you have to have those close to you on board.

• Realistic:

If you’re clinically obese and want to compete in an IBFF pro competition in 2 months… well, you get the picture. Let the goal stretch you but be realistic of what can be done in a certain amount of time. Your coach will know the answers to this.

• Time bound:

Give yourself a definite time to complete your goal or there is no pressure to get it done and it’ll go on forever. Not only that but give yourself mini or quarterly goals in order to stay on target.

• Ethical:

Is the goal within your value system? Does it sit well with you and the life you want to live? Is the goal moral? If it does, you’re far more likely to achieve it. It’ll also be refreshing for you to do because most people aren’t leading their life or decisions this way. When they do, the magic happens.

• Reward:

For every mini/quarterly goal or major goal you accomplish. Treat yourself. Now I don’t mean having a family sized Marks and Spencer trifle but something outside the box. Take you and some friends to have a healthy dinner for the occasion, see a show together, book a weekend away… Whatever floats your boat but fit it into your healthy lifestyle.

This system is extremely powerful but there’s another one I’d recommend… As mentioned at the beginning, only add 3 main goals to your list. You can always break it down but any more than 3 will make you hesitate, procrastinate and frustrate. You’ll spread yourself too thin and will accomplish less. I remember the days when I used to write down 20 plus goals for the year, the result was a lot of things didn’t get done!

Wishing you an amazing 2016

Rupert Hambly