What's the Point of Setting a Goal??

I completely forgot to post this yesterday, even though I said I would last week!  Silly me. Last Friday I challenged you to commit to doing something active this past week.  Now is the moment of truth...Did you do it?  If you did, Congratulations!! One week and you have already taken a step towards becoming more healthy!  If you didn't, that's alright, try again next week! 

So you might be wondering why I am pushing you to set goals for yourself.  Without goals, we can't fail.  We just hide behind the fact that we never had a goal to begin with.  By setting a clear goal, like "I commit to walking for one hour 3 times each week," we give ourselves a chance to fail, but more importantly, we give ourselves the chance to succeed.  The best kind of goal is one that is challenging but possible.  It has to be direct, not vague, and positive. For example, "I won't eat junk food" uses a negative spin, but "I will eat healthy foods each day" is positive.  By creating this chance to succeed, you give yourself a source of motivation. 

Now, if your goal is something like, "I will lose 5 lbs in 10 weeks," that is good.  But its hard to physically control when your body loses the weight. Sometimes our bodies do things in strange ways that we aren't expecting... That's why it is also important to have a goal that you can control your success in... a goal like "I will exercise for 5 hours each week for the next 10 weeks," or "I will participate in a 5k in 2 months. (Then sign up for one even if you don't feel ready yet.)"  That is a goal that you can control your achievement in.  You'll notice I put a time on it as well.  This gives you an end to have in sight. At the 10 week point, you can congratulate yourself on your achievement, and set your next goal as well. 

So take some time this weekend, and set a goal for yourself.  Take the risk.  You never know what you are capable of if you don't give yourself the opportunity to fail or succeed!