Setting Goals for 2020

Setting yourself goals is a great way for us to focus on what we would like to achieve. Read about how to set goals for yourself in the new year.

Ask yourself what you want to achieve in 2020.
The goals should be the ones we set for ourselves because we want them.

It's much harder to succeed if we chase goals other people set for us and there's a big risk we'll feel we've wasted our lives and not done the things that are important to us.

Setting goals can be challenging but it doesn't need to be using S-M-A-R-T goals is a great way to structure all your goals.

See an example of how to use the structure:

Specific
Rather than 'get fit', a better goal would be 'to take a half hour brisk walk after lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays'.

Measurable
Set goals that can be measured. 'Get fit' is hard to measure, but it's easy to know if you walked for half an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday or not.

Achievable
Start small and set goals that are within your reach.

Relevant
Choose changes you'll feel the benefit of. If you're slim, you might not notice losing a little weight but stopping smoking could make a huge difference to how you feel.

Timely
Set a target date. Without one, it's easy to put off making the change.

Once you've decided what you want to achieve, you can start planning on what you need to do to get there.

This usually means breaking it down into smaller, more achievable goals.

The smaller these goals are the better. Putting a timeline to your mini-goals is also important.

Getting help can be a good mini-goal. For example, "I'll speak to a personal trainer next Wednesday" could be a good mini-goal for becoming more fit.

Give yourself a treat for achieving goals - or parts of them. However you reward yourself, make it a healthy one!

Setbacks happen - it's important not to dwell on them.

Look at what changes you can make to prevent setbacks in the future.