You may have heard the phrase ‘there can not be any growth without any goals’, and generally this is correct when it comes to optimising your health. 

In the past we’ve discussed how connecting with the process and embracing the journey is likely to maximise your motivation and strengthen your discipline, but ultimately, whether your goal is process linked, or a specific target, without defining it, it’s easy to fall off the wagon before it’s even got moving.

So Your Daily Health Fix today aims to give you an easy framework for being effective with your time and energy. Apply the tips in the following points to establish your goals, and then use this message as the spark to get started today.

Define your goal(s)

Whether you have one goal or a few, firstly, write them down in as concise a way as possible.

For example – 

• I want to loose 20Kg (in 6 months).
   

• I want to have more energy throughout the day (and not feel drained by 4pm)
   

• I want to run every day
   

• I want to exercise 4 times per week
   

• I want to get off my medication and reduce my risk of another heart attack
   

• I want to optimise my fertility so we can have a baby

Note – some of these are specific targets, and others are related to the commitment. It can be good to have both types of goals, but there’s no right or wrong option.

State the ‘why’ (you want to achieve goal)

Now this might seem obvious, but being clear with your ‘why’ – the motivating factor, will not only help you define the steps you need to take to achieve your goal, but will help you later on when you need to call on pure discipline to help you avoid procrastination and keep you on track.

Some more examples –

• I’m sick of being in pain and struggling to keep up with my family or friends – its embarrassing.
   

• I always feel ashamed of my body image and want to be confident and proud of how I look.
   

• We’ve been trying to conceive unsuccessfully but are longing to fill that void and build a family.
   

• I wasn’t a healthy baby but want my pregnancy and child to have the best chances for health.
   

• I’ve told everyone I’m going to run a marathon for charity. I don’t want to let them or myself down.
   

• My medication makes me feel really bad – if I change my lifestyle I’ll be able to stop taking the drugs.

Choose which goal to tackle first

New habit adoption can require effort, and trying to change too many things at once can often become overwhelming. Generally it is best to attack one goal at a time, but if you feel you have the capacity for more, then keeping under 3 new habits would be a good idea. 

Choose which ever goal is most important to you, or if it’s relating to your overall health, go for the most urgent one first.

Identify what needs to happen in order to achieve the goal

Here’s where you need to be brutally honest with yourself.

This step isn’t about laying out the actions you need to take, but rather stating the overall sentiment of the task at hand. 

Sometimes you’ll be highlighting what you’re going to have to start doing, but often you’ll be acknowledging what you need to stop doing.

These are some common revelations, but write your own, relevant to your goals.

• I need to stop eating shit, stop grazing and constantly snacking throughout the day.
   

• I need to avoid restaurants and takeaways.
   

• I need to change my social circle to avoid people that have bad habits that influence me.
   

• I’m going to have to get to bed earlier so that I can face exercising before work in the morning.
   

• I’m going to get over religious or cultural norms in order to build habits that work for me, regardless of what others say or think.
   

• Smoking, alcohol and drugs are stealing my health and happiness from tomorrow, they need to stop.
   

• I need to establish clear boundaries with my employer and colleagues so I can regain control of my health.
   

• Social media is ruining my concentration and commitment. I’ll have to delete my accounts.
   

Outline the steps you need to take

Now you can outline the steps you need to take.

Set the stage for consistency by breaking the broader goal down in to the largest amount of work you can do today and fully recover from by tomorrow in order to show up and do it again.

In the case of exercise, that might mean running 1km instead of 5 so you can show up and do it again tomorrow without being sore. You’ll eventually be able to do 1.25, and 1.5km per day, until eventually running 5km or more per day is a breeze. The same goes for strength training. Push yourself, but only as much as will allow you to show up again tomorrow. 

It may be that you have lots of micro habits to adopt in order to achieve your broader goal. Do you need to start walking after meals to help control your blood sugar? Or perhaps you need to start the day better by avoiding screens before spending time outside. Use tools like friction and positive obstacles to help get you into a good routine. And most importantly, be sure to block out time in your schedule so that you always have time to get ‘the thing’ done.

For most people their health journey will require optimising their nutrition. Use The Health Fix’s Simple Guide to Clean Eating and other free resources to help you get started.

Start!

So you’ve stated clear goals, been honest about what it’s going to require of you, and have a plan of action as to the steps you need to take and in what order.

All that’s left, is for you to start. Do it now. Not tomorrow, not after the weekend or at the start of the new month. Identify yourself as the person you intend to be, and only do the actions that you have already recognised that person does. Smashing those goals is closer than you think, as long as you set off on the right path.