WELLBEING - How to set goals and actually achieve them!

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Summary - 

Struggle to set any goal and actually achieve it? It’s not uncommon for resolutions or goals to slide even a few weeks after we’ve set them but the good news is that the problem isn’t usually with the goal you’ve set, it’s more about how you set that goal in the first place. 

Things I Mention - 

  • Why setting goals does not set you up for failure despite what most people think

  • How to set big and small goals effectively using a method that is proven to get results

  • I share a personal goal that I set recently & achieved within weeks using this approach

  • How to take one of the most common goals that women have and turn it into something that is more likely to be achieved

PLUS, I let you in on a little freebie that you can download immediately that will help you write, set and achieve any goal you set for yourself. 

Links & Helpful Resources - 

Make sure you hit SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss out on any of my practical tips & tricks and if you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a rating and a review? Thanks!

It’s usually at about this point where our new year resolutions and goals start to slide a little. The motivation just isn’t as strong, the realisation of what it’s going to take to actually achieve said goal has well and truly sunk in and all of a sudden, you find yourself on a slippery slope back to where you were on Dec. 31st. 

If you’re nodding your head right now, don't be discouraged or think for a second that you’ve failed. We’ve all been there, every single one of us at some stage and we all know that this is more common than not. It’s because of this high statistic though that many people start to associate goal setting as a guaranteed way to set yourself up for failure but I’m here to tell you that that’s just not true. The problem isn’t with setting goals, it is the way we go about setting goals. In this episode, I’m going to introduce you to the SMART approach to goal setting. You may already be familiar with this but coming from someone who has studied this quite a few times as part of my Health Coach & Personal Training course, it’s helpful to be reminded of it again. 

Let’s all agree on one thing first though and that is how damn attractive it is for a person to be goal driven. I know this podcast speaks a lot about confidence but put that aside for just a second and let’s appreciate that when someone is driven by a goal, now that gets my attention! It is without a doubt, one of the qualities that I look for in anyone when deciding who I’d like to surround myself with. In fact, I couldn't think of anything more unattractive than someone who is complacent - someone who bobs along, not willing to better themselves in some way, shape or form. I mean, I’m not saying that everyone needs to have big scary goals all the time -  the goal doesn’t have to be big at all - it could be as small as ‘I want to drink more water this week’ but it’s a goal nonetheless that is going to bring you one step closer to becoming a healthier, happier person and that in itself is attractive. 

Ok so SMART goals … what are they?! SMART is an acronym which describes the type of goal you’ll need to set if you’re serious about achieving incredible things. Smart goal setting is proven to be one of the most effective tools for making any goal a life-long reality yet one of the least used tools which is madness because it really does work. 

SMART goal setting brings structure and trackability into the mix which leads to results. Each letter represents something that you’ll need to consider when thinking about your next goal - 

S stands for Specific

M stands for Measurable

A is Attainable

R is Relevant

T is Timely

Now let’s break this down a little more so you understand exactly what I mean when I say that S stands for Specific for example.

So the first thing any goal needs to be is Specific - 

Be as detailed as possible with this. The more specific you are, the more likely you are to reach the goal. Ask yourself things like - when do I want to achieve this goal and give it a day & time if possible, who is involved - every person that will play a part in this goal and what exactly is it that you want to accomplish? 

For instance, if you’re goal is to lose weight - how many kilos - is it 5kg, 10kg or 23.5kg to be exact? Are you wanting all of that weight to be body fat only and not water or muscle weight? 

The second thing your goal needs to be Measurable - 

How will you measure your progress? How will you know when you achieve your goal? So using the example of weight loss, you could say that you want to lose 5kgs of body fat and you’ll measure this by weighing yourself on a set of scales that measure body fat at the same time of the day, wearing the same thing each month to check your progress. 

It’s important to mention here that when it comes to measuring your goal, if you are measuring say once a fortnight, once a month or any amount of time that is longer than that, it’s wise to consider tracking your progress more frequently in some other way to keep your motivation high. So you could go one step further and say that you’ll also use a tape measure to measure the circumference of certain parts of your body each week at the same time of the day, wearing the same thing to keep you on track. 

Thirdly, your goal needs to be Attainable - 

To put it more simply,  this is just asking if this is in fact 100% YOUR goal and no one else's? We often get caught up in what we think we should be doing or get influenced by what other people are doing or expecting of us instead of going after what we really want and need. What you want to do here is just ensure that this goal aligns with what you really want for your future. We can’t be chasing a goal that’s not 100% what we want or believe because your motivation, drive and strength will evaporate quite quickly if that’s the case. 

Ok, next - your goal needs to be Realistic - 

You must be 110% willing and able to work towards achieving your goal. How committed are you? What will you need to do to achieve your goal? What is required and what needs to change to get you there? Be honest with yourself about how much time & energy you have available. Is there anything that could pop up that you know has the potential to derail you almost instantly? If so, it’s not a realistic goal and perhaps you’ve set the bar too high from the get go. Consider pulling back the original goal so it’s slightly more realistic for you to achieve and then once you’ve achieved that goal, then move onwards and upwards from there. 

Finally, your goal needs to be Timely and this is really important - 

Give your goal a deadline! There is nothing like a deadline to kick your butt into action. 

6 months ago, I had a goal of launching my own podcast at some stage in 2020. So the first thing I did to make a start on this goal was to work with someone that knew a lot more about the podcast space than I did. The first thing she told me to do was ‘set a deadline’ which quite honestly scared the shit out of me because I knew very little about creating a podcast at this point, let alone what I’d even talk about every episode. Anyway, I felt the fear and did it anyway and I set myself a deadline of launching my podcast on Wednesday the 8th Jan 2020 which gave me 5 weeks to bring this to life. The deadline I’d set was tight but I knew I’d have a little more time up my sleeve over Christmas/ New Years with Simon being on holidays to help out with the kids and me taking some time off from 1:1 coaching. As soon as I set that date though, my motivation and drive to get cracking on this sky-rocketed and within 3 weeks, I had recorded, edited, published and created every part of the podcast so all that was left to do was tell the world about it come launch day. Deadlines are a necessary evil especially if you are someone who likes to procrastinate. 

Another thing to note is that a deadline needs to be realistic as well. 5 weeks was tight for me, I knew that but 1 week would have been completely unrealistic and would not have allowed for any breathing room which is a must when you have kids - literally anything can happen! 

Let’s talk about weight loss - when it comes to weight loss, a loss of 500g to 1kg is a realistic amount for anyone. If you’ve got more weight to lose, the weight will probably drop quite quickly and water retention has a lot to do with this, but you’ll find that you’ll reach a point where the amount you lose starts to slow down which is when the 500g to 1kg per week comes into play. Aim for 500g per week straight off the bat, then anything above this is an absolute bonus. 

That is the SMART approach to goal setting and the method I use when setting any new goal for myself whether it's big or small. Using this approach, we are now able to take our vague, wishy-washy weight loss goal and transform this into a goal with substance - one that we are a lot more likely to go ahead and actually achieve - 

So instead of setting a goal of “I’m going to lose weight”, your goal would now read - 

“I’m going to lose 5kgs by the 28th March (which is in 12 weeks) so I feel happy with the way my arms look in a dress with thin straps. I’ll measure this goal by using the same scales and wearing the same thing on the same day of my menstrual cycle each month. I’ll keep myself on track by measuring my bust, waist, hip, arm & thigh circumference with a tape measure at the same time, wearing the same thing each week”.  

Now which goal are you more likely to achieve? I’m guessing the one that is Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. 

In my eBook, The A to Z of Confidence, I have all of this written out in a way that’s easy to understand so that you can always refer back to this whenever you go ahead and create a new goal for yourself. If you’re interested in this approach, definitely check that one out. I’ll leave a link in the show notes. Also for anyone that found this episode useful, I’ve created a simple A4 worksheet which will walk you through how to set a goal using the SMART approach to ensure that you are successful in actually achieving it. You can download this one now via my website at www.elishacasagrande.com.au/smart and I’ll also leave a link for this one in the show notes too. Better yet, share your smart goal with me over on Instagram at @elishacasagrande. I would absolutely love to hear it!

Elisha CasagrandeWomens Confidence, FEEL BE LOOK, Womens Wellbeing, Confidence, Goal Setting, SMART Goals, Brisbane Personal Trainer, Brisbane Health Coach