Are you planning your 2022 goals? Don’t until you read this short article.
We know that goals must be SMART. That is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Why, then, do some people achieve their goals, and others do not? And the most critical question: what happens when you achieve your goals?
Here is a typical story. A woman wishes to lose some weight. She sets a SMART goal: to lose 5 kgs in three weeks because she will be attending an important event. She is determined and is applying different tactics, exercising, and crash dieting. She is killing it, and voila, she makes it!!! The woman is now 5 kg lighter. What will happen next? Gradually, she will gain the weight back on. What did go wrong? She did not frame her goal to be sustainable.
You hear similar stories repeatedly: a bodybuilder winning a competition and crashing into a binge eating, a person learning a new hobby and dropping out of the classes, a corporate initiative heavily advertised and promoted, then completely forgotten.
To achieve your plan and make your achievements last, you must keep changing your habits until they become part of your identity.
Do you want to lose weight? You should frame the 2022 vision of yourself as “I am a healthy person.” Do you want to read more books? Think about yourself as “I am a well-read person able to initiate an interesting conversation.” To achieve my fitness goals, I think about myself as a healthy lifestyle role model for my friends, followers, and family.
So, I plan my goals differently:
#1 Identify what I want to achieve and set a time frame
#2 Frame my new identity starting with “I am...”
#3 Develop a process to achieve it
#4 Break the process into small incremental habits
#5 Incorporate those habits into my daily and weekly routines
I do not check my progress often. Instead, I keep adhering to new habits. Once my habits become automatic or subconscious, the power of compounding effort will lead me to reach my aspiration.
Drop a comment below if you find it helpful.
