Setting Goals

by Andrea Hayes, Broadcaster, Bestselling author and Wellness Speaker

“The Secret of change is focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but building the new”  Socrates

Being the true you…….

New year so time to make some new goals, set the intention today to be true to you. Never allow yourself to be defined by someone else’s opinions of you. Being you means putting something wonderfully unique into the world, you cannot be copied it is time to embrace your authentic self and allow this process of evolution to unfold. You are beginning a journey, many new ideas about your true self and your path in life will manifest and this new stronger you may surprise or threaten others as they may not have the same vision, motivation or commitment as you have to welcome change, don’t allow other peoples ideas stir you off course, stay on your path and trust you are taking steps day by day to a new exciting destination. A good way to be true to your own agenda is setting some goals that will bring you closer to your true path in life.

Setting Goals:

These are general statements of intent, our goals tell us what we want to achieve, how we want to change, or what we want to look, or act like some time in the future.

Decide each day what you want to focus on – keep that goal or idea central in your thoughts all day, almost in a trance like dreamy or meditative way also by writing down our goals and even sharing them with other people this will make easier for our brain to accept them as reality.

Morning Wakeup – In order to make writing down your intentions a habit, it helps to write at a specific time each day. An ideal time to do this is right when you wake up. This helps you set the tone for the day and get into a mindset aligned with your intentions.

Repetition of your intentions will make your goals more achievable – say your goals daily and write them out, carry them around on a little note with you every day!

Your goals and intentions are going to be more effective if they are specific and realistic. If you wish to improve your swimming performance, it would be unrealistic to give yourself the goal to become “A world-class swimmer”, unless of course you are here are some tips and tricks on achieving your goals using   S.M.A.R.T. The SMART acronym first appeared in the November 1981 issue of Management Review. “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives.” was the title and it was written by George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham.

For myself I have slightly adapted the famous smart to add PLAN to it. Here is how it works.

A goal must be S.M.A.R.T

SIMPLE GOAL,

MEASURABLE,

ACHIEVABLE,

REALISITC,

TENSE

Then I also add in my own extra little P.L.A.N

POSITIVE FEELING,

LOVE,

ACTION,

NO EXCUSES

Example – If you have a goal to loose weight….

Simple Specific Goal –

Example – I want to loose weight ( simple and specific )

Measurable –

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight and feel great (you can measure and track your weight lose )

Achievable

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months

(you are giving yourself a time frame to achieve your goal)

Realistic

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months, by eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week

(you are giving yourself a realistic way to help you to achieve your goal) 

Tense – Present Tense

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months, by eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week, beginning today until June ( you are setting a present day deadline to achieve your goal it is beginning NOW not in the future 

Positive Feeling

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months, by eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week, beginning today until June. I will feel positive health benefits with my healthy new lifestyle.

( you are attaching positive benefits from achieving your goal this will help you achieve it )

Love –

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months, by eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week, beginning today until June. I will feel positive health benefits with my healthy new lifestyle.

It is an act of self love to give myself time and space to achieve this goal and focus on myself and I will love the new me.

(It is an act of self love to put yourself and your goal first, choosing to love yourself is important in achieving to you goal)

Action

Example – I want to loose 1 stone in weight in 6 months, by eating healthy and exercising 3 times a week, beginning today until June I will focus on my goal that I intend to achieve. I will feel positive health benefits with my healthy new lifestyle. I will get up early to walk to work and prepare and plan my dinners every Sunday for the week ahead and measure my weight loss every week.

( you are stating what specific steps you need to take to achieve your goal and including a day for review and forward planning)

NO EXCUSES

You have outlined all the reasons you want to achieve this goal and all the steps needed – no don’t allow your self to self sabotage yourself – NO EXCUSES allowed, don’t put off tomorrow what you can achieve today.

Road map to achieving your goals today:

• Say it as if you mean it.
• Write it as if you believe it.
• Visualise it as if it has already become a reality.
• Dare of Day’ – Start each day by looking into the mirror and repeating your goals for the day
• Dare of the week – Take time this week to write down some long term goals for this year and work out strategies to achieve them.
• Dare of the month – Share your goal with an accountability buddy! As long as the goal is not too personal or confidential in nature; telling a trusted friend about your goal will make you more accountable and more likely to achieve your goal! Plus the support will help you to stay focused on your goals

Extract from “My Life Goals Journal – Gill Books. .gillbooks.ie/my-life-goals-journal

About the author
Andrea Hayes is an Irish broadcaster and producer whose work includes TV3’s hugely successful series Animal A&E, Dublin Airport: Life Stories and Coming Home for Christmas. She recently wrote and produced a new TV series, Dog Tales with Andrea Hayes and published a book of the same name. She is also a familiar voice on Dublin’s Sunshine 106.8fm
Andrea’s bestselling book, Pain-Free Life: My Journey to Wellness, chronicles how journaling helped her to overcome her health challenges, this was followed by the best selling book ‘My Life Goals Journal’ where she shares her practical plan to create change, achieve your goals and live your best life.
Andrea is a trained clinical hypnotherapist, Bethany Grief Minister and Spiritual Director with Anamcharadas. She lives with her husband David and daughters, Brooke and Skylar and dog Dash in Dublin.