Goal Setting

Everyone has goals for something. Athletes have goals. Car salesmen have goals. Farmers have goals. You can have goals for your finances or weight loss. For whatever you are creating your goals, there are 3 important concepts to remember.

1 - Short Term => Long Term
No matter what your goal is, you should be able to break it down into short term goals that can help you achieve your long term goal. For example, if you want to lose 5o lbs., you should break that 50 lbs. into 10 lb. or even 5 lb. increments. Then focus on losing the next 5 lbs. Before long you will quickly be aproaching your goal, but you won't be overwhelmed by always thinking about that big, long term goal.

2 - Measurable
If your goal is finances or weight loss, you should always make it a measurable goal. With money, don't just say you want to make more money. Put a specific $ amount as your goal. For example, set a goal of $50 extra per week or $500 per month. For weight loss, don't just say you want to be skinny or in better shape. Measure your body fat % or track your weight lost each week. Don't just say you want to look good in a bathing suit. Measure your progress so you can know if you are getting closer to achieving your goal.

3 - Prioritize Steps to Take
Now that you have your short term goals in place and set up the means by which you can measure your progress, you need to decide the steps that you must take to accomplish these goals. Then, prioritize them according to what is going to give you the biggest bang for your buck. For instance, resistance training, interval training, and an improved diet consisting of more fruits, vegetables, and lean sources of protein and less sodas, fried foods, and processed foods would be great steps to take to achieve a goal of weight loss. However, deciding to skip breakfast everyday or walking/jogging 3 miles everyday are not great steps that will contribute to quick effective fat loss. These two steps have been proven time and again by research to be counterproductive when it comes to fat loss.

Remember to make short term goals that are measurable and prioritize the steps you must take.
Good luck in achieving all your goals,
Proverbs 16:3
Kyle