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Make it your fittest, healthiest and most gorgeous summer yet!

In this article I am going to take you through a really inspiring goals process.

Many of us (including me!) have had the experience of setting goals and failing to achieve them. Many of us (and me too) have had the experience of setting goals and achieving them. Mm, so what is the difference between goals that are achieved and ones that aren’t?

Step 1 Describe your goals clearly with lots of detail

Usually, when goals are not achieved we haven’t been specific enough about exactly what we want. We might say vague things like, I want to be slimmer, I want to be fitter. The question is how slim, how fit, how would you know you had achieved your goal?

So the first step is that you must get very clear about what you want. You cannot be too specific with goal setting. This is because your brain likes clear instructions and will begin to create the conditions for you to achieve that goal. The more detail you give the goal, what it looks like, sounds like, feels like, the more it comes to life and start to feel like a reality for you. It becomes tangible and inspiring, especially as you get good feelings around it.

Step 2 Make sure your goal fits the SMART criteria

SMART goals are

S              Specific (and stated simply)

M            Measurable

A             Achievable

R             Realistic (and responsible)

T              Timed

For example, start by stating the goal you want specifically in the positive:

“To lose 14 pounds of fat by the end of July.”

So check that it fits the SMART criteria above.

Now write them down in your journal (yes, go and buy one or a nice notebook. Weight loss is a journey and it really helps to write down your learnings and observations).

Step 3 Break it into specific action steps

Now, look at your goals. Check that they are about behaviour and actions. So, it is great to have a weight loss goal for example, “I want to be 10 stones by Christmas next year”. But what actions do you need to take consistently take to get your goal? What changes in your eating, exercise levels and thinking patterns?

Next, think of the behaviours that will lead to that, they are your true goals and state them in the present, eg: I am walking to work and back every day. I am eating fruits and vegetables with each meal every day. I am drinking 6 glasses of water each day. Etc.

Step 4 Attach positive feelings to the actions

Feelings create motivation. Both bad feelings and good feelings can motivate us to take action. When we are motivated by negative thoughts, this is known as away-from motivation in NLP (neuro linguistic programming).

Most of us are pretty good at this, something doesn’t fit, we look in the mirror and focus in on the tummy hanging over the top of tight waistband and then we feel bad and say bad things to ourselves. “Oh my, I look dreadful. I must do something about this!” Often we start a crazy diet at this emotional time (bad idea).

Negative motivation isn’t sustainable without severe consequences to your emotional well-being and confidence. It is depleting to feel bad about yourself. It is also harder to maintain behaviour changes if they are boring or make you feel bad.

It feels healthier and is far easier to use towards motivation, and attach positive emotions to your new behaviours. This creates enjoyable motivation that you can build on.

To increase positive feelings around those new behaviours, you need to attach good feelings to these. In psychology, this is called a conditioned response and in NLP (neurolinguistic programming) we call this an anchor. Essentially, it is about creating and anchoring good feelings to any behaviour that you want to keep. This is because we are far more motivated to do what makes us feel good than bad.

So how can you begin to do this?

Let me illustrate this with the example of joining the gym. If you have ever joined the gym when really you don’t enjoy it, you will know that it doesn’t feel good to pay a large membership fee to go three times. It makes it expensive and ineffective!

So if you plan to join a gym and make good use of it, you have to attach massive pleasure to it. Get excited about it; create happy and powerful feelings about it. You can act and pretend to feel this way at the start. Jump up and down shouting, “Yes! How much fun! I am going to the gym! This is going to help me achieve my dreams!” You will soon be aware that your feelings change and you feel much more positive. You could become a fitness junkie!

Keep stacking those good vibes as an ongoing habit. When you are at the gym say powerful, positive things to yourself,

“Wow I can feel my muscles getting toned!"

"Gosh I look a bit slimmer and fitter today!"

"Yes, twelve reps today at this weight, how fantastic!"

"Yipee I did a 30 minute walk today!” and so on.

Step 5 Coach yourself ongoing

Coaching yourself is an ongoing process and re-evaluating your goals is a part of that.

So keep reinspiring yourself. Become more aware of your day to day thought patterns. Let go the ones that are not serving you.

Above all, have as much fun as you can on a daily basis. We can all take ourselves way too seriously. Make laughter and joy goals that you focus on having, always.

If you feel you would like more support have a look at the coaching programmes. Or the CD programme is also really good.