Make Your Health Goals a Reality: Wishes vs Goals
How will you be closer to your health goals in 6-months? Do you have a plan to make your health goals a reality?
I dislike New Years Resolutions. It’s said a resolution is simply a wish… and how often do wishes come true on their own? It takes work to achieve what you seek. I like the start of the new year because it makes us reflect on where we are and where we want to go but I prefer approaching the future with goals.
Goal setting supports success.
Here is the actual goal tracker I used this year. It’s a template for setting goals in seven key areas of your life.
For our purposes, we will focus on the physical because I’m all about what you can do to improve your health, specifically your heart health.
Now, let’s cover the five steps you must take to ensure success.
- Recognize your big vision
- Set a goal
- Outline the action plan
- Plan for obstacles
- Assess progress
1. Recognize your big vision
Big vision (I’m giving you an example here) is to feel good so you enjoy time with family and can easily participate in activities.
2. Set a goal
Let’s pretend you have high blood pressure and it is currently being managed with medication and the medication has unpleasant side effects. You could set a goal to be off medication within the next 12-months; however, I would set the goal to be “Reduce blood pressure medication by half in the next 6-months.” You are more likely to stay motivated by setting shorter goals and achieving those goals quicker.
3. Outline the action plan
Now, if you stop there, it is a wish and not a goal. You need to dig in to the concrete steps you are will take.
The program Heart Health Made Easy lays out many steps to implement, but let’s pick one as an example.
The first step will be to increase your physical activity. By increasing your heart rate during activity you strengthen the heart muscle which allows the heart to pump blood more efficiently.
Good choices to lower blood pressure include walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, and dancing. Start where you are. If you are inactive, you would select walking over jogging. Work your way up.
Be even more specific to make your health goals a reality.
I commit to walking 30 minutes 4 times per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday) during my noon lunch hour.
Next, grab your calendar and add the dates and times you will be taking a 30-minute walk. If you don’t regularly look at a wall calendar then that is not the place. Treat this time like any other appointment you would schedule.
4. Plan for obstacles
Try to think of everything that could impact your decision to walk when the day and pre-determined time rolls around.
- What if it snowing or raining? What is your back up plan?
- What if something out of your control occurs and your intended walking time is simply not doable? What is your back up plan?
- What if you head home from work with good intentions but sit on the couch and just don’t have the motivation to get back up?
- If you have children – are they going with you or do you need child care plans?
- Do you have walking shoes?
- Is it cold where you live? Do you need to find indoor locations to walk or go through your wardrobe for layers to bundle up?
All examples to get you thinking. Decide how you will overcome obstacles in a way that works for you. There will be obstacles. Have a plan. If you do not, you will not hit your goal.
5. Assess progress
As you complete the desired activity, mark it complete on your schedule. This gives a visual tool to monitor your progress. Look back and assess how many days each week did you complete the activity.
Mark your calendar to review the entire goal tracker at least once a month. If you take the time to fill this out but then file it away and don’t look at it again… what was the point? Review at least once a month and assess if you have implemented all outlined steps to achieve the desired goal. Are you on track? If not, what do you need to change?
Wishing you all the best as you make your health goals a reality!
Lisa Nelson RD
