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3 Simple Steps To Setting And Keeping Goals

It's been a month or so since we set our New Years Resolutions...How are you doing?  Last night our oldest son and his wife were over visiting and he started talking about how he has learned to set and keep goals.  He's got some pretty good ideas (must get his smarts from his MOM)!

  1. Set reasonable goals.  Make them so easy that it's not even hardly a challenge.

          EXAMPLE #1:  Your goal is to get up 1 hour earlier every day.  That's a pretty hard goal, especially for someone that is not an early riser. 

          SOLUTION: Make it simple and build on it.  

Start out by setting your alarm 5 minutes earlier than normal.  
Anyone can get up just 5 minutes earlier!  

Do this for 1 week.  The following week set your alarm another 5 minutes earlier. Now your getting up 10 minutes earlier than when you started. Do this for 1 week.  Keep adding 5 minutes each week until you've reached your 1 hour goal.

          EXAMPLE #2: Your goal is to NEVER eat sugar again. Now, some people can do this in one fell swoop, but most of us will start out great until we're offered a piece of candy.

          SOLUTION: Make it so simple that you can do it and then build on that.  

Today I will not eat anything made with sugar.  Just today! 

After you've succeeded, set the same goal for tomorrow and so on.  Once you've done this for 1 week, treat yourself to a small bowl of ice cream or something you really enjoy.  The following week, do the same thing.  Greet each day with the goal to not eat sugar...just one day at a time. After 1 week, treat yourself to a sweet treat. Do this for a month or so and then expand your commitment to 2 weeks and so on.  As your body begins to adjust to not having sugar, you'll begin to notice that those sweet treats don't taste as good and they won't be such a temptation.

     2.  Fill the void. Once a person decides to stop doing something, a void is created.  Take the above Example #2.  You've created a void by taking something you like to eat out of your diet.  In order to succeed at your goal, NOT to eat sugar, you will need to fill that void with something else.  Something equally satisfying.  Maybe you love strawberries but don't buy them very often....buy yourself some strawberries and save them for a treat when temptation is sneaking in!

     3.  Remove temptation.  If your goal is to get up earlier, make sure to go to bed on time.  Remove the temptation to sleep in by getting a good nights rest.  If your goal is to not eat sugar, remove all those sugar laiden treats from the house.  That way, when you do treat yourself, you have to go to the store to buy it!  But...make sure you've had a good healthy meal before buying your treat, or the temptation to buy several treats  might be to strong...


Do you have any tips about what works for you?  I'd enjoy hearing about them!




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26 comments:

  1. I never really make resolutions, and my only real goal is to kick candida once and for all. I am working on that.... it is a very slow process but I am sticking to my diet..... so one day, maybe I will be completely candida free.

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    1. Terry, your dedication to beating Candida is an inspiration to me! I've been reading your blog for a long time and you are such a positive influence! Thanks!

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  2. These are really good tips. And, simple as they are, I still think a lot of people wouldn't think of doing them this way!

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    1. Sometimes I think we look beyond the mark and that we also get impatient. The fable of the Tortoise and the Hare is prevalent in setting goals and keeping them.

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  3. I feel like I'm doing ok with mine. We joined the Y and are still active with it. We did take one break when we all got the tummy flu, but that was kind of a given. Who exercises when they are sick? My only problem is that I'd love to lift weights, but we so far stick to family things. We go to a family gym night twice a week and open swim two other nights during the week. Since we work fulltime and have opposite schedules to stay away from daycare, I really feel like we need the family time.

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    1. Your family is really on the ball. I'd enjoy going swimming! Family time is so important. It must be difficult not seeing you honey very much cause of your work schedules!

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  4. These are excellent tips!

    My newest goal is to go 26 days without sugar. It's a HUGE issue for me, so I'm trying to focus on one day at a time.

    The kids weren't thrilled but I dumped out a bunch of treats in the trash yesterday so I could start today without the temptation.

    I'm trying to fill the void with being more active around the home, but baby girl got sick so I found myself sitting a lot more than I wanted to today, thus the ideas and cravings sneak in, but I haven't given up. :)

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  5. Amber, your goal is big! Yay for not caving in! Hope she gets better soon!

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  6. Not sure about #2, not eating sugar. I gotta have my sugar in my coffee, if not, I'm not functional. Really, brain jelly :(

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    1. I guess some things just don't go well with out sugar!

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  7. setting reasonable goals is so important to remember- if they are super unattainable, it's just going to frustrate!

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    1. This is a lesson that I learned the hard way...over and over and over! Are you still in NY?

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  8. I need to try that on my chocolate habit. That is wonderful advice. Thanks for sharing this idea. I need all the help I can get.

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  9. Goal setting....I think I will

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    1. Rhonda, you make me laugh...you're probably the best goal setter!

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  10. This is a great post, Becky. I'm in goal setting mode recently, so thanks for the helpful tips. It really can be tricky to set goals and not beat up on oneself when we trip on the way, but falling and getting back up is how we learn...just like babies learning to walk. Thankfully, God is always there to give us a hand...sometimes I forget to ask Him, though. OOops!

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    1. Wish WE could walk like a couple of babies...a little wheelchair humor!

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  11. I guess it does help to set bite-size goals. Once you start to see results, then you'll be more motivated to set even higher goals.

    I have stopped setting goals for myself. That's not good... That means I'm settling. Mediocrity should never be an option, right?

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    1. With goals, some is better than none, but it's okay to take a break once in a while to regroup! Thanks for stopping by!

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  12. Very good suggestions and I agree with you. I do set resolutions as it is a perfect way for me to focus on one thing I want to change and not overwhelm myself with too many changes.

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    1. Like you said, not being overwhelmed is the key. Another key that helps is learning to adjust our goals. Sometimes, we get discouraged and quit instead of re-adjust!

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  13. I pray about it. I have such an addictive personality. The only way I ever break any habits is through reliance on the Lord :D

    Great practical advice Becky Jane!

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    1. Your right! Prayer is the greatest source of power! Thanks for reminding me!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Geoff, I think he's pretty cool! Next week I'll be posting a Poem/Pros he wrote!

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