MOVE: Jan 2012

SMARTEN UP & GAIN "MOVEMENTUM"!

Each year as the ball drops people tend to take a breath and the new year brings a sigh of relief that we've made it to one year's end, and another's beginning. We often feel a sense of encouragement for new beginnings, maybe a reinvigorated self, and excitement at the potential of things to come. Many of us tend to set big time goals (often called resolutions), but somewhere between writing our plan for achievement and executing it - life get's crazy (as it often does), responsibilities pile up, and statistically the great majority of us fail at what we've set out to do...resorting back to the daily grind...the same daily grind that was with us in the year prior.

Maybe it's time to gain some "MOVEmentum" in the new year? What exactly is "MOVEmentum"? Well, besides Pro-Activity's new brand of health & fitness services, it's simply the strength or force gained by consistent positive action, most commonly in the form of motion (i.e. moving), or positive life-events (i.e. successes). But what does this have to do with you and your goal? Actually....a lot!

What we know (through years of experience and loads of supportive industry research) is that when an individual takes consistent positive action for their health, even small at first, the person begins to build a platform of success (each small action builds on the next), and before we know it, we find ourselves succeeding (continuous and cyclical) rather than successful (at moment in time). Soon enough, resolutions are resolved, goals are achieved, and we're that much closer to the individual we really want to be!

BUT - it always starts with "SMART" goals and a game plan. So as we are close to wrapping up the first month of 2012, if you haven't already, we urge to follow these guidelines when setting your 2012 health & fitness goals, and mapping out your plan.

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1. S - goals must be specific. Most people set goals of "being healthier" in the New Year. But what does this really mean? My definition of "healthy" and your definition of "healthy" may be entirely different. I might think my heath is determined by my nutrition and focus the bulk of my attention there, whereas another may find stress management is their desired area of focus.

2. M - goals should be measurable. There's an old saying, "what gets measured gets done".  We find that when folks do a good job to quantify their goals, it's much easier to determine if the game plan is effective in achieving them. We often find ourselves in conversations with clients stating they "want to lose weight". While that's a good start for many...what does that really mean? Does it mean 1 pound, 10, or 50...or do you really just want some inches off the mid-section? Clearly your game plan will be different depending on your form of measurement.

Take your checking account for example, many people "measure" it's health regularly and change their habits based on how healthy the measurement is (i.e. if your bottom line is poor, you find ways to change your spending).

3. A - goals should be achievable. This is the "take a hard look in the mirror" moment. Goals should make you stretch so you truly improve...but they shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, leading to failure and discouragement for next time. Remember, "MOVEmentum" is about one success building on another.

4. R - goals should be realistic. Being realistic with our goals makes us look at what sort of resources we have to work with. Make sure whatever you so choose is realistically doable given your available resources....or make sure you have the means to get more resources.

5. T - goals (and people in many cases) need deadlines, they must be time-bound. Without a deadline, it's often easy to "push until tomorrow". We often encourage clients with health & fitness goals to train for a specific event (like a 5k, or triathlon) because it provides us with the necessary date to work back from. Steven Covey, author of "7 Habits of Highly Effective has long been recommending that we all "begin with the end in mind" - meaning start with your desired outcome, and work back from there determining the small day to day actions that when applied consistently gain "MOVEmentum" and ultimately, success.

Here's to you and your health & fitness achievements in 2012!

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