Make 2021 the year to put your health goals at the forefront. Hannah Hoffman, PHP Wellness Coordinator, shares her expertise on how to make it happen.
Be realistic with yourself
Sometimes we can get carried away with our goals. Being realistic with yourself can help keep your confidence and motivation high.
- Ease into your goals and start with goals you know you can meet. For example, instead of working out 5 days per week, you could start with two days per week and work your way up.
- Ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 what is my confidence level in achieving this goal (with 10 being the highest confidence)? If your confidence is at a 7 or above, you are good to go.
- Focus on at most three goals at one time. Having too many goals can become overwhelming and your willpower can start to dwindle.
Set SMART goals
Goals are easier to achieve if they are SMART - specific, measurable, action-based, realistic, and timely.
- Specific: what do you want to do?
- Measurable: how will you know when you’ve reached it?
- Action-based: how will you do it?
- Realistic: can you realistically achieve it?
- Timely: when do you want to do it or accomplish it?
Give yourself grace
Making any type of lifestyle behavior change is hard. If it wasn’t, everyone would have their perfect body, have all the money they could dream of, etc. If you do find yourself falling short with your goals, give yourself grace and try to avoid any negative self-talk.
Realize the state you are in right now, whether good or bad, did not happen overnight. It’s a journey that is going to take some time, especially something that is going to be sustainable. Revaluate if needed and continue on.
Consider having an accountability person or a source of support to help you stay positive. This can help you work through any self-doubt and is an outlet of continued support.
Enjoy the journey
Taking time to focus on your well-being is the best thing you can do for yourself and for those that you love as you show up in a better state than if you weren’t. Enjoy the process and celebrate the wins whether big or small as research shows those who reward or celebrate themselves have a greater chance of success with their goals.
PHP Members – Let us help!
PHP offers several wellness tools our members can use to make their health goals happen, such as the PHP Get Fit! program, designed to keep you active and reward you along the way.
One way you can get started in your health journey is to take the online Health Risk Assessment to determine your level of health risk. This helps you determine areas of improvement you may need to take to get you on your way to a happier, healthier lifestyle.
