Re: [Exercise Videos]goal setting (was: / ultra marathon friend)

[Guest guest]

On 10/11/2011 9:44 AM, wrote:

>Sometimes we " know " things

> intellectually (if I eat this stuff, I don't feel my very best

> and I don't peform as well as I could) but we don't feel our

> goals as deeply

yes, this is my problem... i need to really feel deeply about my

goals. i guess that my goals are not very well defined. i

should read up on the goal setting process...

:*carolyn.

[Guest guest]

Good insight, Carolyn! I have taught people about goal setting for years (at WW and before that too). Here are the biggest things to keep in mind. Note, I use weight loss examples because that's what I'm most focused on right now, but the techniques apply to anything.

1. Make sure it is for YOU and not because someone is telling you you should do it or because you think you should or you think someone else would like it if you did. If the word "should" is anywhere near your goal then the goal is not appropriate at this time because you don't WANT it badly enough. "Should" which is code for "it would be good for me but I don't really care if it is because I don't really want to do the work to make it happen right now."

2. Make sure your goal is within your control and not dependent on anyone or anything else (so a goal to win the lottery doesn't work well no matter how money you spend trying to win).

3. Make it a good fit with your life. A goal to lose 50 pounds in one month is generally not a good fit for most people, unless maybe they're on the Biggest Loser.

4. Make it as specific as possible. If you want to lose weight, for example, decide how much you want to lose instead of a vague, "I want to lose weight."

5. Make it time-dependent. Set a date by which you'll know you're successful or at least on the right track. Going with the weight-related goal a good one would be, "I want to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks." (If that is reasonable, for me it is too aggressive but for others it works.)

6. State it in the positive. It is much easier to work on a goal that is stated positively. "I want to lose 50 pounds so that I can wear my skinny clothes, lower my blood pressure and get off my cholesterol medications" is much more effective than "I want to lose 50 pounds so I can quit feeling like a fat slob." You might still want to quit feeling the way you do, but being focused on the negative doesn't help you generate momentum.

One exercise I did about a month ago with all my WW meetings was to have everyone make a list of at least 10 reasons why they wanted to lose weight (and for those at goal, why they wanted to maintain that weight) and I encouraged them to go way beyond that. One lady came up with over 30! I told them no one but them needed to see the list so dig really deep for all those reasons. The ones that are the most challenging to acknowledge are usually the most motivating. I further told them to keep the list handy so that whenever they hit a snag in their efforts and felt frustrated, they could pull out the list and remember why it was so important to them to not give up. I have gotten tremendous feedback from people who did this exercise. They've found themselves working harder because they really know why they are doing what they're doing.

I hope this helps.

Re: goal setting (was: / ultra marathon friend)

On 10/11/2011 9:44 AM, wrote:>Sometimes we "know" things> intellectually (if I eat this stuff, I don't feel my very best> and I don't peform as well as I could) but we don't feel our> goals as deeplyyes, this is my problem... i need to really feel deeply about my goals. i guess that my goals are not very well defined. i should read up on the goal setting process...:*carolyn.

[Guest guest]

You're the best.  Thank you for sharing your expertise with us, !  It's very useful! )HugsOn Sat, Nov 12, 2011 at 1:42 PM, DeWolf <nancydewolf@...> wrote:

 

Good insight, Carolyn! I have taught people about goal setting for years (at WW and before that too). Here are the biggest things to keep in mind. Note, I use weight loss examples because that's what I'm most focused on right now, but the techniques apply to anything.

 

1. Make sure it is for YOU and not because someone is telling you you should do it or because you think you should or you think someone else would like it if you did. If the word " should " is anywhere near your goal then the goal is not appropriate at this time because you don't WANT it badly enough. " Should " which is code for " it would be good for me but I don't really care if it is because I don't really want to do the work to make it happen right now. "

 

2. Make sure your goal is within your control and not dependent on anyone or anything else (so a goal to win the lottery doesn't work well no matter how money you spend trying to win).

 

3. Make it a good fit with your life. A goal to lose 50 pounds in one month is generally not a good fit for most people, unless maybe they're on the Biggest Loser.

 

4. Make it as specific as possible. If you want to lose weight, for example, decide how much you want to lose instead of a vague, " I want to lose weight. "

 

5. Make it time-dependent. Set a date by which you'll know you're successful or at least on the right track. Going with the weight-related goal a good one would be, " I want to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks. " (If that is reasonable, for me it is too aggressive but for others it works.)

 

6. State it in the positive. It is much easier to work on a goal that is stated positively. " I want to lose 50 pounds so that I can wear my skinny clothes, lower my blood pressure and get off my cholesterol medications " is much more effective than " I want to lose 50 pounds so I can quit feeling like a fat slob. " You might still want to quit feeling the way you do, but being focused on the negative doesn't help you generate momentum.

 

One exercise I did about a month ago with all my WW meetings was to have everyone make a list of at least 10 reasons why they wanted to lose weight (and for those at goal, why they wanted to maintain that weight) and I encouraged them to go way beyond that. One lady came up with over 30! I told them no one but them needed to see the list so dig really deep for all those reasons. The ones that are the most challenging to acknowledge are usually the most motivating. I further told them to keep the list handy so that whenever they hit a snag in their efforts and felt frustrated, they could pull out the list and remember why it was so important to them to not give up. I have gotten tremendous feedback from people who did this exercise. They've found themselves working harder because they really know why they are doing what they're doing.

 

I hope this helps.

 

 

 

Re: goal setting (was: / ultra marathon friend)

 

On 10/11/2011 9:44 AM, wrote:>Sometimes we " know " things> intellectually (if I eat this stuff, I don't feel my very best> and I don't peform as well as I could) but we don't feel our> goals as deeplyyes, this is my problem... i need to really feel deeply about my goals. i guess that my goals are not very well defined. i should read up on the goal setting process...:*carolyn.

[Guest guest]

I'm glad you found it useful, , thank you!!!

Re: goal setting (was: / ultra marathon friend)

On 10/11/2011 9:44 AM, wrote:>Sometimes we "know" things> intellectually (if I eat this stuff, I don't feel my very best> and I don't peform as well as I could) but we don't feel our> goals as deeplyyes, this is my problem... i need to really feel deeply about my goals. i guess that my goals are not very well defined. i should read up on the goal setting process...:*carolyn.