New Year Newish Me: Fitness Goal-setting and Goal-getting Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks
Besides being infamously known as the longest month of the year in Trinidad and Tobago (lol), the month of January is most known for fitness resolutions and reboots. My mantra for the year 2022, new year refined me, begs the question, am I a good goal-setter and goal-getter? Looking back at 2021 and planning for 2022, I needed to confront myself with this question. What I realised is that my goal-getting abilities needed work. Don’t get me wrong, a lot was accomplished in 2021, and I am grateful for all that it has brought, but like all things, some refinements are needed.
This post describes my approach to new year goal-setting and goal-getting.
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My New Year’s Eve reflections
Recently I started interrogating the past year (2021) and really drilling down on what I did not get to accomplish and what I actually accomplished. The main flaw that arose was not my ability to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) goals but was my goal-getting abilities.
Though most of my goals were achieved, I decided to dig deeper and assess the ones that were checked-marked as complete. This led me to ask myself these questions:
Were my goals 100% completed?
Should I have gone just 1% over the required objective?
Did I barely achieve them?
And do I like the final outcome?
Answering these questions allowed me to pinpoint areas in my goal-getting strategy that needed improvement. The main outlier in my assessment was my lack of game plan adjustments to suit the moving parts of my life.
Sometimes it is not the lack of planning but the slowness in reacting to change that’s the problem.
So it’s that time again to plan; what can we do differently?
Goal-setting and goal-getting
When reflecting on how to get to the end, it’s best to start over.
So, to begin, let’s start with resolutions.
What is a new year’s resolution? By definition, new year’s resolutions are self-promises to do something for the year ahead.
Thus, harnessing what I learnt from Management Studies in secondary school and university, there are some core tenets of goal-setting that need not only apply to employer-employee dynamics. In fact, goal-setting theory is relatable to fitness if we view ourselves as an employer and our bodies as an employee.
Among the literature, the work of leadership and motivation theorist Dr Edwin Locke stands out in this case. Locke’s work on goal-setting drives home five key points: clearly defined goals, selecting aspirations that challenge you, making commitments, feedback and using attainable targets to achieve goals.
Based on these five pillars, I can say that my downfall is in my execution of pillar five, formerly known as task complexity. Put simply, I often bite off more than I can chew, trying to make the same deadline work, despite changing parameters.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it?
So going back to the four questions I outlined earlier. Though the outcome was achieved, did I really enjoy the journey and were the objectives really met?
The how (aka the goal-getting) matters.
A new look at New Year’s Resolutions: Choosing refinements over a total reset
Based on my new year’s reflections of 2021, I concluded that rather than looking at the reboot-side of new year’s resolutions, I should focus on the continuity side of the concept. In other words, being open to the current things that need to change instead of starting from scratch.
Hence, to strengthen any goal-getting strategy, I recommend increasing the quality of the journey to derive the highest satisfaction in the end. As I discussed in my blog, Fitness Reboots Do’s, Don’ts, Tips and Tricks: Getting Back into the Habit of Working Out, starting over is very daunting.
Note I am not suggesting an entirely new approach. The execution is predicated on the fundamentals of habit building (a popular topic on this blog) – trigger, routine, reward and repeat.
DO #1
Be open to trying a new concept to reach your end goal. If the old method is not working, try a new approach that can get you motivated and committed.
I hope this mentality change can yield better answers in 2023, thereby improving my goal-getting abilities.
Goal-setting and goal-getting refinements
To draw an example, one of my SMART goals last year was to adhere to a daily workout schedule.
Let’s break it down to see if it was SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-bound
Do you agree? If, no what would you recommend?
Now let’s analyse the goal-getting side of the equation. My plans (primary and secondary) to ensure that I did do the necessary was:
PLAN A
Wake up two hours earlier to fit in a workout session before work. I prefer mornings, and it increases the likelihood of my exercising.
PLAN B
Have a workflow cut-off time to prepare to break for a workout session.
The associated habits I aligned to this specific goal was:
HABIT 1
Put on my gym clothes as soon as I wake up.
HABIT 2
Workout reminders from my accountability partners.
What emerged were Monday workout spikes (nothing bets the feeling of a new week), ‘late’ evening workouts and off days.
Like I said, I did hit my target of re-establishing a healthy routine. But to nitpick, I admit that the process and outcome were not the best.
Did it build more consistency? Honestly, it did not. In the middle of the year, I was just squeezing in workouts. On long days (some of which I did not anticipate), I either did a short workout, none at all or a distracted workout (you know those sessions where your mind is fixed on working, not working out).
Let’s go back to my four questions and answer them:
Were my goals 100% completed? – NO
Should I have gone just 1% over the required objective? – YES
Did I barely achieve them? – YES
And do I like the final outcome? – SOMEWHAT
The yellow flags here, in my opinion, is my strategy. Building a ‘even more’ realistic and rigid schedule is needed. I’ve realised that flexibility (though advantageous for some) is crippling my development. Honestly, I do best in controlled environments; that’s why group training days made schedules easy to stick. External expectations and commitments are definitely motivators I need to re-introduce in my routine. Being a self-boss is tough.
My do’s, don’ts, tips and tricks to help with goal-getting
TRICK #1
Start with reflections when deciding on your new year’s resolutions. Learning from (not dwelling on) the past is valuable.
TIP #1
With any change, always consider if it means a vision change or a goal change. In my opinion, vision changes are much bigger than goal changes. Vision changes impact the ultimate outcome we are trying to achieve. By differentiating the two, we’ll know how much of the plan we need to change. In other words, goal-based adjustments will change the journey, not the destination.
TIP #2
Always cater for contingencies. If there is one thing we can take away from the pandemic is the importance of backup plans.
DO #2
Always incorporate a self-care plan. Like your goal system, your self-care plan should adjust as you add or subtract items to ensure balance.
DO #3
Remember, small incremental changes are what it’s all about. Baby steps.
TRICK #2
Enforce routine milestone check-ins throughout the year. Sticking to regular check-ins is very important to ensure that you are on track.
TRICK #2
If you feel like you are going nowhere with your self-reflection, if possible, get feedback from persons that know you. Sometimes we may be too close to a situation to see what’s wrong. Remember Locke’s goal theory pillars; feedback was one of them.
To end,
DON’T #1
Do not burn to learn, trust me. Online is a great place to get advice. Always try to make informed decisions.
Takeaways
Taking from the quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Then if the plan is terrible, a wish will remain a wish. At any point of self-reflection (whether at year’s end or the beginning of the new year), remember your goal-getting strategy is what’s important. Get a strategy that makes the journey worthwhile.
Wishing you and your family many successes in 2022.
DO always incorporate a self-care plan
DON’T forget to plan for contingencies
TIP, getting feedback helps with growth
TRICK, even if the adjustment seems minute, always consult your plan to see if it affects the bigger picture
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