Success Tips
&
S.M.A.R.T Goals
I've been a wellness professional for over ten years
and I know where people struggle most, get frustrated, and eventually give up.
To help you get and stay on track, I have 10 Success Tips that I know will help you.
TIP 1: BE OPEN TO LEARNING
Being coachable is a huge factor in success. If you know what to do, but don't apply what you know, then the information is not going to help you. You also have to be ready, willing, and able to make the necessary changes, no matter how uncomfortable they may be at first. Long-term success in improving your wellness is about adaptability.
Are you adaptable to change? Are you willing to be guided to a different and better lifestyle?
Put your ego aside and allow your life to transform for the better.
TIP 2: BE COMPASSIONATE WITH YOURSELF
Start where you are, and progress forward. Baby steps forward lead to big wins later.
Many people start the wellness process with unrealistic expectations and get discouraged when they don't meet them. I know you've heard the quote, "Fall seven times and get back up eight."
During the wellness journey, seek progress and not perfection. I coach clients to honor where they are and to own the process each day by practicing habits and refining their actions overtime to meet their desired goals.
TIP 3: MATCH YOUR ACTIONS TO YOUR VISION
Visualize where you want to be and write out steps to get there. To get something you've never had,
you need to do something different. For example, if you have a goal of losing two pounds a week,
but your healthy behaviors are 50% compliant, then it's unlikely you'll meet your goal.
TIP 4: SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE
The quote, "Go Hard or Go Home," doesn't leave much room for errors, and it also undermines any effort, no matter how small. To succeed, be consistent by showing up every day and do something that will move you forward. If you feel like giving up each time because you can't do it all at once, then you've failed before starting. Be realistic. Set small behavior goals each day and crush them.
TIP 5: CREATE BROAD GOALS, THEN INDIVIDUALIZE
Once you have mastered healthy habits for at least 2-3 months, then it's time to fine-tune your efforts. Let's say you've been doing everything right as far as your wellness habits, and you've hit a plateau,
then it's time to slow up your game.
Look at your nutrition.
Is it time to decrease or take away the cream and sugar in your coffee?
Is it time to replace that biscuit with whole grain bread?
Check-in with your activity level.
Is it time to increase the intensity of your daily walking regimen?
Is it time to add strength training to your weekly workouts?
Everyone starts at a different place, but there is always something to improve.
TIP 6: USE DIFFERENT WAYS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
The scale is not the only way to measure progress. It is my least favorite out of several because it does not take into account body composition changes unless you have a smart scale. Even with them, real progress is elusive.
WAYS TO MEASURE PROGRESS
Body Measurements
Body Composition Analysis
Progress Pictures
How Clothes Fit
How Your Body Feels
Improve Quality of Movement
Weighing Yourself
TIP 7: FOCUS ON THE JOURNEY
Put less emphasis on a number like your weight and more emphasis on
increasing your fitness level and performance. If you do that, the rest will come.
The more conditioned your body becomes, the better it will perform, and the better
it will start to look. Health is much more important than the pounds you lose. A wellness
journey with a goal of weight loss is comprehensive. It involves nutrition, exercise, stress
management, and getting adequate sleep. If the only focus is weight loss, then the means to
get the desired outcome may not be healthy. Focus on the journey and not the end number.
TIP 8: BE REALISTIC WITH PROGRESS
Losing two pounds a week and one percent body fat a month is a
healthy goal, but some people are impatient. They want the weight gone yesterday.
I can't tell you how many prospective clients I've had who come to
me asking if they can lose 25 pounds in two months for a wedding. You
can, but it won't be healthy nor sustainable.
Focus on mastering daily, healthy habits, tweaking when necessary and
you'll reach your wellness goals.
TIP 9: MAINTAIN YOUR RESULT
You can never go back to what put the weight on and made you unhealthy.
To maintain, you must continue to do what got you the results and improve upon it.
Clients have come to me for maintenance because it is the hardest stage to be. You reach a
level of comfort and start slacking off healthy habits, and before you know it, you're in full relapse.
Be consistent in your actions, and you will sustain your hard work.
Don't get too comfortable.
TIP 10: CREATE S.M.A.R.T. GOALS
WHAT DOES S.M.A.R.T. STAND FOR AND MEAN?
Specific - it's clear and concrete, ideally action-oriented
Measurable - you can objectively evaluate whether or not you met the goal
Achievable - it is possible
Realistic - Goals big enough to inspire, but not frustrate you
Timely - have some time component as a deadline or frequency
Using these criteria, you can frame your goals appropriately.
S.M.A.R.T. Goal Builder
Here's a quick fill-in-the-blank I use to help me write out my goals:
I will ___________(specific action) ___________(number of times) by/for ___________(date/frequency) so that ___________(reason).
EXAMPLES
I will walk 3 mornings a week this month so that I can improve my endurance for mountain climbing this summer.
I will increase the number of fruits and vegetables by one each day until I’m consuming at least 5 a day so that I feel healthier and energized.
I will aim to lose 1 pound a week so in 5 months I will be down 20 pounds so my health is better and my knees don’t hurt anymore.
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