Assess where you’re at!

January 23/07

In the last post we talked about the concept of baby steps and building a solid foundation for our goals.  In this post we’re going to expand on the idea of building that firm foundation.  To set effective goals, you need to be realistic about where you’re currently at.  If you’ve made it a goal to run a marathon in two months but right now you can’t walk around the block without a little heavy breathing you’re setting yourself up to fail.  Set a goal that starts to build the foundation to run a marathon.  Start by making it a goal to walk two blocks with ease within a certain period of time, for example.  You may not be running that marathon in two months but you’re definitely on the right path to doing it at some point.  Once you reach that goal of walking two blocks easily, you’re definitely better off than where you were previously. 

Conversely, if you’re already running a half marathon without breaking a sweat, your goals will be quite different.  It’s really a matter of being honest with ourselves about where we’re at.   

Remember the two concepts we’ve talked about so far: SMART goals and baby steps.  You need to set goals in small increments based on where you are now.   Want to drink more water?  How much do you drink now?  If you don’t drink any water, don’t make it a goal to drink eight glasses tomorrow.  Trust me, your bladder will thank you for this.  Make it a goal to drink one glass a day for the next week.  Sure, you’re short of the daily intake recommendation of six to eight glasses but if you drink one glass a day you’re doing way better than you were last week when you weren’t drinking any.  That’s SMART and baby stepping. It takes approximately three weeks to establish any new habit.  Making small, slow changes makes it much easier to stick with them.  Each change builds upon the last one and each change should be well established before you add a new one.  

Picture a set of stairs where you climb one step at a time.  Each step also has a level place where you can rest if you need to. Establishing a new habit slowly will give it more staying power.  Once you’ve been drinking a couple of glasses of water daily for a few weeks you will definitely notice when one day you don’t drink the amount of water you’ve become used to.   

Setting small goals based on a realistic evaluation of where we are at right now keeps us from becoming overwhelmed by the enormity of what we’re trying to accomplish.  What a pity to be so overwhelmed that you don’t even start!  When you accomplish your small goal, you can congratulate yourself.  This success will spur you on to try for another success.  You did it!    Until the next chapter,

Lisa 

Baby Steps

January 13, 2007 

 

In today’s issue we’re going to talk about the concept of baby steps in goal setting and we’re going to look at that amazing achiever – the baby! 

Babies are born basically helpless and rely completely on their caregivers to survive.  At birth, their biggest skill is crying so as to draw attention to themselves in order to get their needs met.  By the end of their first year, most babies have mastered many important skills such as: 

• feeding themselves with their fingers or a spoon
• beginning communication with their caregivers through gestures and sounds
• many will be walking or close to it.

 

Babies did not gain all these skills overnight.  There were many important steps that built the foundation for their successes.  For example, learning to walk requires some physical abilities: 

• they need to be able to keep their heads upright
• they need to develop torso and leg strength to stay standing
• they need to develop balance as they wobble back and forth uncertainly. 

 

All of these skills develop over a long period of time. 

In addition to taking these small steps to develop their skills, another thing babies need is attitude!   

Have you ever watched a baby learning to walk?  My daughter used to grip the couch with all her might, back and arm muscles straining as she pulled herself upright.  The first few times she tried it she didn’t have the strength and fell back to the floor with a thump.  Did she let that stop her?  Not on your life!  She had attitude.   

We all did at some point.  If we didn’t have a “can do” attitude, we never would have learned to walk, talk, and eat with a spoon.  Babies never fling their hands in the air saying “Forget this whole thing!  I can’t do it!”  They may thump onto their butts and have a little cry.  As soon as they’re done, though, they’re up and at it again. 

There are two things we can learn from babies when it comes to reaching our goals.  The first is that we have to build the foundation for our goals.  We don’t expect babies to walk (or even sit up, for that matter) in the first few weeks.  So why do we expect that we can make huge strides towards our goals in only a short amount of time?  

The second thing we can learn from babies is attitude.  You had it at one point in your life.  I know this because, at the very least, you’re able to work a computer well enough to get this e-mail. You can read it, too.  That skill didn’t come in one day.  

Sure, it’s okay to sit on your butt and have a little cry.  Then get up and try again.   

Until the next chapter,Lisa 

SMART goals

January 3, 2007

Since this is the start of the new year, many of us will be making New Year’s resolutions.  The most common resolutions are to lose weight, exercise more and quit smoking.   As we know, most resolutions have gone out the window by the end of January.  While I am in favour of setting exciting goals that stretch you I also don’t like to see people set themselves up to fail so the topic of today’s newsletter is setting SMART goals. 

S = Specific

M = Measurable A = Attractive

R = Realistic

T = Time limited 

SMART goals include all of these features. 

Examples of goals that are not SMART: 

I will eat better. I will become well-read.

Examples of goals that are SMART: 

I will make vegetables the main ingredient in dinner three times this week.

I will read three chapters a week in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway until I have finished it..

A goal needs to be specific.  What will you do?  How will you do it? When will you do it?  It needs to be measurable.  How will you know when you’ve completed it if it’s not measurable?  If the goal is not attractive you will have no motivation to reach it.  Ask yourself why you’re setting this goal and what the benefits will be.  A goal needs to be realistic and attainable.  Setting a goal to lose 20 pounds before the cocktail party next week is unrealistic.  Setting a goal to lose one to two pounds is do-able.  Finally, you want it to be time-limited.  Changing behaviour is hard!  Knowing you only have to incorporate vegetables as a main ingredient in dinner three times this week is easier to think about than thinking about doing it the rest of your life.  At the end of this week when you accomplish this goal, you’ll celebrate.  Then you’ll set a new goal for next week.  Coming next time:  The concept of baby steps. 

Until the next chapter,Lisa