Goal Setting Is All About Timing,
It's hard to imagine how much easier it can possibly be. Honestly, what are you waiting for?
If you've ever tried setting a goal or two and haven't been too successful, then this blog post is for you. Goal setting is all about timing — what works when is the key question there — which is the whole point of this article in response to that specific question.
Corporate cultures will have a lot to say about goal setting from a perspective of time management and productivity, but this article will focus specifically on the psychology of it, particularly from the perspective of behavior modification: what works when and why.
First things first. Goals are not New Year's Resolutions. The end of every year is often associated with goal setting because you can make all kinds of lists before you start to forget everything you wanted to get done in that year that's ending. Goal setting tends to carry over into January because it's fresh in your mind, but the two actions aren't one in the same by any means.
So I'd like to think of goal setting as a process for getting ideas down — a process that is about taking action towards striving for specific mental and physical outcomes in the future. Many of which are intangible in nature. But to give you an example, this blog post is meant to be an example of hard-hitting goals set on paper. These are not New Year's Resolutions and should not be used at the beginning or end of any year.
If you'd like to set goals for your brand, business or yourself then you should, but don't stop there. And don't go for New Year's Resolutions either.
Goal setting is a process and the difference between setting goals and resolutions has everything to do with time management and productivity — it has nothing to do with what you're striving for. The specific actions you take towards goal attainment will be more effective if they're all spaced out over time rather than being lumped together at the end of a year or at some other random point in time. This is also called behavior modification.
Just like you wouldn't expect to get lasting results from one action with the same intensity as a series of daily doses, you shouldn't expect the same longevity or depth of results from your goal setting methods as you would by setting goals at one point in time. This is behavior modification: breaking up big goals into smaller more manageable ones that are spaced out over time.
For instance, if your ultimate goal is to lose weight and not just reduce your body fat percentage then there's no reason why that goal should be set at the end of a year — just like if you're trying to lose weight for a specific race or competition, there's really no good reason to set it at the end of a year. In fact, it makes no sense at all.
Instead, you might start with some sort of baseline weight or lean body mass and set a goal to get to that number without gaining any fat — and then set another goal to reduce your body fat percentage from the last time you were at that weight. You might even want to go back one more time and see how much lean muscle mass you had when you were at that weight with the optimal level of body fat percentage — the lowest number you could possibly be while still having to maintain some sort of athletic performance in the process.
And with each of these goals, you would want to set a new goal in mind for the following week. With each consecutive week always working towards this ultimate goal.
If your ultimate goal is to become a marathon runner then there's no reason why that goal should be set at the end of a year — because that could possibly be an entire lifetime of activity, and you'd like to enjoy life while doing it. Instead, you might set a goal to run distances longer than 10km without stopping at any point in time — and then set another goal to not just run these distances but also maintain some sort of athletic performance during the process of training as well. And then another goal to keep doing that while maintaining a healthy diet, and then set another goal that would require you to maintain this healthy diet while progressively increasing the distance of your runs.
With each of these goals, you'd want to set a new goal in mind for the following week. With each consecutive week always working towards this ultimate goal. You might even want to go back one more time and see how much lean muscle mass you had when you were at that weight with the optimal level of body fat percentage — the lowest number you could possibly be while still having to maintain some sort of athletic performance in the process.
And with each of these goals, you would want to set a new goal for the following week. With each consecutive week always working towards this ultimate goal.
You see the pattern here? There's a lot to breaking up your overall goals into smaller more managable parts that are spaced out over time. For example, if you want to lose 100 pounds in a year then that's not going to happen unless you're doing something wrong — and when it comes to goal setting and weight loss, there are typically only two ways to do it: 1) set small goals every week; or 2) eat very low calorie diets. It's that simple.
There are other ways to lose weight such as fad diets, liquid diets, etc., but these actions are typically harsh and unsustainable. Years of lifestyle management is not the same as a few months of doing something wrong that leads to 5 pounds or 10 pounds being lost. The former is better because it's sustainable and allows for a more holistic approach to body composition changes in order to avoid losing lean muscle mass in the process — which is actually very hard on your psyche if you haven't experienced a diet before.
Planning and preparation is key to success in any activity — even goal setting
The first step to successful goal setting is creating a process that works for you. You need a system that you can use every day, and it's important to understand how it works. The purpose of this blog post is to give you some direction, but ultimately the steps you take towards reaching your goals will ultimately be up to you and what works best for your lifestyle — but there are some things we should all consider when planning out our long-term goals.
For starters, planning and preparation is key to success in any activity — even goal setting.
Conclusion
The most important thing to remember here is that goal setting is a process — it's not something you can do once a year and expect it to work forever. If you set goals and never follow up on them then there's really no point in doing any of it in the first place; but if you plan out your step-by-step process then you will be able to approach goal setting more effectively.
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