Setting and achieving new weight control goals

Set new goals after achieving old ones

• If it’s not in writing, it’s not a goal.

An unwritten goal is a wish, a maybe, a never-happen. The day you put your goal in writing is the day it becomes a commitment that may change your life.

• If it’s not specific, it’s not a goal.

Broad desires and lofty aims have no effect. Until you translate your vague wishes into concrete goals and plans, you are not going to make much progress.

• Goals must be believable.

If you don’t believe you can achieve a goal, you won’t pay the price for it.

• An effective goal is an exciting challenge.

If your goal does not push you beyond where you have been before – if it doesn’t demand your best and a bit more you didn’t realize you had in you – it isn’t going to change your ways and elevate your lifestyle.

• Goals must be adjusted to new information.

Set your goals quickly, and adjust them later if you’ve aimed too high or too low. Many of the goals that have the greatest positive influence are set in unfamiliar territory. We may adjust our goals down if they become unbelievable or up if they lose their challenge. 

• Dynamic goals guide our choices.

If your goals are set up right, they’ll instantly show you the right way to go on most decisions.  
Try not to set short-term goals for more than 90 days.

• After you have worked with short-term goals for a while, you may find that a shorter or longer period works better for you. Setting short-term goals for more than 90 days may result in a loss of interest in achieving it.
• Maintain a balance between long-term and short-term goals.

• If your goals are all long-term, you’ll have difficulty in keeping your performance up because all of your payoffs are too long term. Too many short-term goals may undermine long-term results.

Set activity goals, not end result goals.

• If all of your goals are end result goals, you may set yourself up for a slump. It’s usually better to set activity goals.