Oh no, how did I manage to lose me? The answer? You’re going to do it again! Let’s say you are a little more seasoned, maybe you started the year already with a new fitness plan, maybe you’re going to stick with what you’ve got (good for you), but most of the time people tend to slip into bad habits very easily. One of the biggest dangers with setting goals is not actually setting any goals. If you never reach for the stars, you’ll never fall and hurt yourself. You need to always have a goal in mind, you’ll find yourself going through life much more productive and more fulfilled if you do. And the best thing is, even if you are still on the “diet roller coaster” if you have set goals for yourself, and are working toward them, you will make much better progress than if you go days without a workout. Goals should be specific. You should write down what you want to achieve. Make it a big goal, one you really, really want to achieve. Not what you think you should do. The moment you want to achieve that big goal, or dream goal, you’ll be in a mindset that will make achieving the goal so much easier. Try to avoid having too many specific goals, two or three that you feel you will most likely be able to meet during the year. If you have too many goals, then every time you sit down to put in a workout session or to write a post for your blog, you will procrastinate because you have so much to do, and you are already in a bad mindset. You should write down exactly what it is that you want to achieve each month, every three months, and maybe even every week. And then try to stick to those goals, no matter what, and keep things consistent. Stick with it. Set the bar high, and reach for it. You will be surprised at what you are able to achieve. The other reason to set a goal, especially if you have many, is to help you visualize how far you’ve come. How can you see how far you’ve come? When you start seeing where you are now, versus how far you want to get to, you will really start to push yourself. And even if you are on track for the end of the year, make sure to set a new set of goals for the next year. It really doesn’t have to be something as big as achieving that fitness goal you wrote down last year, because in order to hit the next year goal you will need to stay consistent and keep the momentum going. But the idea of setting goals at all is to help you get better every day. There is no point in setting some goals that will only take you to a point where you haven’t achieved them yet. That’s a waste of time. To have a goal in mind, however big or small, will do you wonders. And even if you don’t hit that goal, you can always keep the mindset and think about how you worked your butt off, and achieved something you previously thought impossible. Goals are a great way to measure yourself. They can tell you where you are in life, and what you are doing. If you are on a treadmill, whether you are running your 10,000th step, or haven’t even reached your 10,000th step, they’re still a good way to measure yourself. Your goals don’t have to be huge goals either. They don’t have to be fitness goals either. But you should always have some sort of measurement you can apply to yourself. Maybe even some sort of measure that makes you happy to achieve, like walking a certain amount of steps, or losing 20 pounds, or running a 5K race. Whatever you choose to measure your success by, you will be much more fulfilled when you reach your goals. Whether it’s weight loss, getting in better shape, or you want to have a better work life balance, whether it’s being a great husband or father, or finally starting to lose the weight from your last break up, having goals will help you achieve everything. You don’t want to run, you don’t want to lose weight, and you don’t want to get healthy, because you want to, you have to. Why? Because who else will be there to motivate you? Will you be able to keep the “new year, new me” mindset if you don’t have any goal set for yourself? No, you won’t. Start on the right foot this year, set yourself some goals to work towards, and start your countdown already. It will be so much easier when you’ve got a goal in mind, it will make it easier to stick with the good habit of hitting the gym or taking a walk around the block, or whatever it is that will keep you healthy and happy. If you are having trouble coming up with some goals, maybe you need to reevaluate your life. Take the time to look back, and see what was lacking in your life, the time you didn’t achieve those goals, the things that really brought you the most joy. If you can’t think of anything, then take some time to look into your life. Do you have any big dreams, things that you want to do? Perhaps you can write them down, like “have a family,” or “have a girlfriend,” or “finish college.” Maybe you want to write down a list of all the small things you need to do to achieve those goals, it’s the small steps that matter, remember? Don’t get caught up in how much weight you want to lose or how good you need to be at football. Think about your life goals instead. Try it out for yourself, go home tonight and write down your biggest goals. You never know, you might just surprise yourself, because there is always something left to achieve. I’ve set some huge goals this year, to improve my relationship, my business and more, and it’s been hard to stay consistent. But if I’ve got a little more of a direction and goal in my life, to achieve something, it keeps me going. Let’s look back to when I was a teenager. I always had a list of things I wanted to do, and I always wrote them down, it was like therapy for me. I would sit down with a piece of paper, and I would draw out things I wanted to achieve. Everything from getting my driver’s license, to playing in the junior rugby league, to going on a school camp in Tasmania. It was my way of achieving things for myself, and I was always so excited. I remember making lists of my top goals as a teenager, it was a little different. But if you’re anything like me, then you may not have the best memory of those teenage years. Don’t worry, there’s no need to go back to what you did at 18, because it wasn’t your fault. Let’s say we’re going to start now, I’m going to ask you a question: Did you know I’ve never played rugby? That might not be too surprising, because I’m not some massive rugby player, but did you know I used to do it all the time? Every summer, and when I say all the time, I mean it, I was on my way to playing fullback for school one day, and I decided to make a trip to a local ground with my mate as a warm up session. The coach caught me trying to play rugby, not very good, and the captain of the team yelled at me. I ended up making a promise, if I passed rugby, I’d run for one of the three clubs I love, the club I’ve got such a connection with. I ran for them ever since, playing all those sports. I went to college, and played a lot of sports, while I was still figuring out what I wanted to do, and at one point it was just rugby. I played every day, even when I didn’t want to, even when it hurt my ribs and knees, because it was what I always wanted to do. The best part about my story is that I still do play rugby. I play every day, maybe not as hard as I did when I was a kid, but there is one thing, and that’s my best friend. But the one thing is playing rugby. Yes, playing rugby, but also the fact that I’m still going to try and play rugby when I’m 50. If that’s not a