Getting those Summer goals....how to make sure you reach them!!

As the beautiful spring weather and sunshine is upon us, the amount of people suddenly emerging from the comfort of the PJ's, hot chocolate and heaters on weekends or after work is increasing at a rapid and pleasing rate! And who wouldn't be adventuring outdoors; the sunshine practically calls my name. Dragging me out the door and changing all of my plans to include time outside to soak it all up!

This is the time when many lovely ladies (and men), start to make plans or goals that they which to reach in terms of their fitness and health. The most common of these being; to lose weight, to increase energy levels, to exercise at least 5 days a week, to eat healthier and to manage stress levels better.
Of course, goals can be more Career, Social, Family or even Spiritual focussed.

But how can we ensure that we reach the goals that we set ourselves? After all, there is nothing worse than disappointment to break our motivation! And I know that I have made many overzealous and over-enthusiastic goals in the past - surely I can save the world and run an ultra marathon in 4 months!!??

Keep the following mantra in mind - S.M.A..R.T goals are the best goals! The best goals are those that are planned, written and worked on in an organised manner.

S - Specific. Keep your goal as specific as you can so you know what you are trying to achieve. This could be "I hope to run my first 10km fun run in 4 months", rather than "I want to run" or "I want a better job".
M - Measurable. If you can't measure whether you are getting closer to your goals, or if you have actually reached it, how do you know if you are achieving success, or if your plan of attack is effective? An example; "I want to be able to lose 5kg in 5 weeks", or "I want to be able to complete 60 sit ups in a row in 3 weeks".
A - Achievable/Attainable - Of course, there is no point in setting yourself an awesome goal, but not being able to reach it because it is completely un-realistic. If you just started running, instead of having a goal to run a marathon in four weeks, perhaps your goal might be to run a marathon in twelve months. If your goal is to buy yourself a 5 bedroom house in the inner city, and you have a job earning $800 a week, make sure your goal is in an achievable time frame, or perhaps you could consider buying further out from the city or in a smaller house/unit to begin with.
R - Relevant - Your goal needs to be relevant to you, and what your short and long term plan is. If one of your long term goals was to run a successful home based business earning a full time wage, perhaps a relevant goal might be to make a business plan or complete the required study over the next year  or so. If your long term mission is to complete an Ironman event in three years, a relevant goal might be to complete a half ironman race in one year, or to include two of each discipline into your weekly training program for the next year.
T - Timely - Make sure you attach a time frame to your goal. It is very easy to have a goal, but without setting a date or week for it to be completed, you can easily procrastinate (which I am very guilty of!!!). If it's fitness or running you're wanting to work on - enter yourself in a fun run or a 'tough mudder/stampede' event. The extra motivation you get when you enter an event always helps your planning!

Don't forget to include your friends and family in big goals also. Having some social support, as well as having an effect of giving you more ownership and responsibility in being able to finish what you set out to do definitely helps!

Post your list of goals up around the house, on your diary, as your alarm (e.g 5.30am wake up = Getting closer to my 10km run!!), or read them aloud every week.

Try to keep your goals to 3 at a time (with your long term goals in mind also of course), which will prevent you becoming overwhelmed by too many goals and too many things to try to achieve (Which links back to the 'achievable'!!).

Dream big Gorgeous Girls Xxxx