10 Realistic Goal Setting Tips By Jennifer L Blair

Are you struggling to attain the goals you've set for a healthier lifestyle? It's that time of year again. The time for setting up for your desires and achievements. Sounds easy enough but actually it can be quite a daunting task to follow through. Most of us gear up for a year of checklists and begin with gusto. However, after a few days or weeks of struggling to maintain enthusiasm, most of us give up and fall right back into our old habits. It's easy to get overwhelmed if you don't have a strategy in place for fulfilling your healthy habits. Below are 10 realistic goal setting tips to help you succeed without feeling overwhelmed. For lots of tips and information: http://www.healthwealthhappinesstips4today.blogspot.com 1. Write It, Draw It, Paste It! It's super important to visualize your goal. You can either write it down or create a visual representation of what you want. A vision board is a fun way to be creative with your goal setting. Take a poster board and cut/paste images of your desires. This can be a healthy looking body (maybe a celebrity you admire or athlete?), a yummy looking healthy meal or even words of inspiration. Hang this artistic expression of your goals somewhere where you can see it all the time. Whether writing or creating something visual you are instilling your goals into your subconscious thought process. 2. Be Specific "I want to be healthier" is NOT a specific goal. Your mind will hold you to your desires much better if you are clear and concise. Ask yourself important questions like, "What steps should I take? or "What does healthy mean to me?". Stay away from vague or broad terms and really know what you want to achieve. 3. Start Small Try not to give yourself a huge overwhelming transformation all at once. Your goals should be realistic and achievable. 4. Narrow Your Focus So often we set a multitude of goals covering every area of our lives only to discover we cannot possibly accomplish them all at once. Although you may want to exercise more, eat healthy, be productive and save money; focusing on all of this is a sure way to fail. Instead, set up a time-frame for yourself. Pick one thing to focus on for the week or month. When you feel confident you have tackled your first obstacle and formed a solid habit, then move on. After all it's better to achieve even one of your goals then to fail altogether. For lots of tips and information: http://www.healthwealthhappinesstips4today.blogspot.com 5. Don't beat yourself up. It's okay if you slip off the wagon once in a while. You don't have to be perfect to be successful. Most people succeed after several tries. It's the ones who don't give up that achieve their goals. When you fall, tell yourself - "okay, let's try this again" and keep trying until you get it right. Expecting perfection is not the way to go. Understand your limitations and work with them. 6. Progress Report Another realistic goal setting tip is to set up a way to track your progress. Just like when we were in school and had star sticker charts, progress reports can be the same. It is truly helpful to see how far you have come and it will boost your confidence knowing you are moving forward. 7. Rewards & Holidays Set up milestones. When you have reached a milestone, reward yourself. Know what you are working towards and always have a light at the end of the tunnel so you don't burn out. You can treat yourself with a new item you may want to purchase, take yourself out for dinner or event a vacation where you can just let loose. This doesn't mean you should set yourself entirely back but you can at least loosen the reins and reward yourself to make it all worthwhile. 8. Share Your Goals Many people make the mistake of keeping their goals to themselves in case of failure. This is a mistake. When you share your goals with others, whether friends or loved ones, you are establishing a reality to what you are trying to do. This will set you up for a solid foundation of success. Subconsciously we don't want to let anyone down. It's also easier to fail if no one else is watching. Broadcast your news and share your achievements to keep you motivated. 9. Create Your Environment Set yourself up for success. If you plan to exercise more, be sure you have what you need. i.e. If your goal is to exercise more: athletic shoes, a yoga mat, a place to move, etc. If you want to eat healthier, be sure to purchase the foods you want to eat before you begin so you can be ready and remain steadfast. If you don't set up for the goals you want, it will be too easy to make excuses later. 10. Be Conscious of Your Thoughts This is perhaps the most important of the 10 realistic goal setting tips. Filtering the positive and negative thoughts will mean the difference between success and failure. If a negative thought pops up, take a look at it and replace it with a positive affirmation instead. For lots of tips and information: http://www.healthwealthhappinesstips4today.blogspot.com Using these tips will help you navigate through your goals and you will be on a better track for continuously achieving everything you set for to do! (c) Copyright - Jennifer Blair. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_L_Blair Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8254102 For lots of tips and information: http://www.healthwealthhappinesstips4today.blogspot.com