Goal Talk

We are back from Gatlinburg now, we really enjoyed it and as with all vacations we hated to see it come to an end. If you ever want to make time go super fast, go on a vacation. Erica is really tickled because a year ago when we were in Gatlinburg she was a size 16, this year she is a size 6.

It's almost the end of the year, the time when people make their New Years Resolutions. That can be a very positive time but if you go about it wrong it can lead to having your self respect stomped on. Goals need to be specific and obtainable, sounds simple doesn't it. But often we make goals that are to hard to meet or that cause us a lot of stress trying to live up to. These kinds of goals never workout. Or we make goals that are to vague, "I'm going to lose weight" may be what you want to do but make a goal that you can achieve, like "I'm going to lose 3 lbs a month this year", that way you have an ongoing goal that is achievable.

Making healthy lifestyle goals are wonderful but just like with weight you have to be specific to make it happen. Saying, "I'm going to eat healthier", once again is to vague. A better goal is to make a specific goal like, "I'm going to stop eating deep fried food". If you are smoking though, resolve to go to a doctor and get in a supported and effective program to stop. There is no easing into stopping an addiction. The same goes for alcohol, if you think you have a problem you do. Get help.

Some goals are going to be easier than others because it makes more sense to you. Cutting out something that you are guilty about anyway because you do it all the time is much more effective, but harder than cutting something you don't do much anyway. If you only eat ice cream a couple of times a year then cutting it out isn't going to do you any good. But if you have a couple of pints of ice cream every night before you go to bed then cutting the ice cream to special occasions will do wonders for your healthy goals.

Get a piece of paper and make two columns, write down the things you would like to change and the other column the good things you do that you would like to do more of. Looking at it in black and white can help you decide what goals would be the most effective and do you the most good.

Thanks for reading

Panda