Setting Achievable Goals for 2020

An example of this might be, you set a goal to lose 20kgs in 4 weeks.  This is an unrealistic goal to begin with, but motivation is high in the beginning and you manage to stick 100% to your diet for perhaps 48 hours.  But then feelings of deprivation, physical and emotional food cravings and hunger set in and before you know it, you have devoured the entire contents of your pantry, fridge and freezer! Sound familiar?

Why does it always seem to end in disaster even when you set the best of intentions? Is it merely because you have no willpower? Well I’m here to tell you NO – it’s not your conscious mind’s fault – you have to uncover your core self-limiting belief which in this case may be something along the lines of “I’m not worthy” or “I’m not lovable” or “I don’t deserve to be fit and healthy”.

The reason is different for everyone, but feelings of unworthiness are more common than you might think.  Even people you look up to and admire because you think they have all their ‘stuff’ together can be struggling with insecurities and self-esteem issues also.

If you want to set goals for 2020 and beyond that are achievable, they not only have to be realistic but you need to do a bit of inner work first to uncover what unconscious drivers are motivating your behaviours in order to have a good chance of success.

So how do you do this?

Journaling your thoughts and feelings that come up for you around your main goal are a good start.  Find out your true ‘why’ for setting this goal, then hold this in your mind when creating your own personalised affirmation.  Example – “I want to lose 20kgs because I want to be fit and healthy enough to play with my grandchildren” – therein lies your ‘why’. So your affirmation could be “I am so grateful and thankful that I am a fit and healthy grandparent.”

The next step is to break your goal down into much smaller ones – and celebrate each win along the way.  Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but small daily habits that get you to your big goal will – especially if you’ve celebrated your small wins to keep you motivated and focused on your ultimate goal.