Once again, we had an excellent response to our January Goal Setting Challenge. We love to read your goals and get excited for the potential of what’s to come. For me, that’s the intriguing thing about goals—they raise expectations and challenge us in new ways. Just like a good narrative, they create tension between what is and what could be. Goals also challenge us to think and to plan, which are two pretty handy things for us humans to be able to do.
As always, when reading the emails of a large population, themes develop. We thought we’d hit some highlights:
- Your goals covered all the bases of Wellness: fitness, nutrition, stress management, sleep, spirituality, family, even the health of your pets were not forgotten.
- Not surprisingly, many of you had weight loss goals, most ranging from 10-30 lbs. over the course of the next several months. The best of these also had behavioral goals attached that supported the weight loss outcome. For example, “I will lose 10 pounds by May 1st by exercising at least four days a week, replacing soda with water, limiting myself to one sweet a day, etc…”
- You guys are getting into this incentive thing, and many of you are incentivizing yourselves. My 2-year son old has a sticker chart for specific good behaviors. More than a few of you were using the same. Hey, even as adults, there is still power in a gold star.
- Many of you incorporated a family member, friend, coworker, or pet into your goals. This is awesome. Social is fun. Social is easier. A little accountability and support goes a long way.
- We saw a lot of our new Fitbit users listing weekly step goals. There should be some sort of step challenge on the incentive site from now to the end of the year, so we hope this will help!
- Some of you focused your goals outward this year, choosing to be mindful of how you speak to/treat coworkers or family. These could have significant impacts on stress levels and overall emotional health.
- For those of you who have participated in this challenge for the last 2 to 3 January’s, it was awesome to see your progress, as you build on your past success!
I have a nice list of 2015 goals I wrote down for myself. They are visible from my workstation, and hanging on the wall of my home gym. Some will be a stretch. Some are mainly just for fun. For you and for me, getting there will be a journey and learning experience. I can’t wait to read the success stories come November!
In the immortal words of Larry the Cable Guy, “Get ‘er done!”
NA
Montana Moves 