Goals and habits. Are they relevant to each other and if so, how do you make them work for you?
We’re all aware of goals. Let’s face it; every magazine on the build up to summer and Christmas includes the quick and effective diet that will help you shift that half stone to get into your bikini/little black dress (pandemic allowing!). This is a goal. This is the ‘I want to lose half a stone before my holidays/Christmas goal’ and magazines feed into it with gusto. Magazines however don’t tell you how to utilise the benefits of using goals and habits to not only achieve it but maintain it too.
There are lots of goals in life; lose weight, get fit/exercise more/complete the London Marathon, retrain/get a new job, have a baby, move to a new home … the list goes on.
The sad truth is that these goals alone tend to lose their drive and momentum or in some cases, without other factors to consider, the goal may not be enough on its own.
This is where habits come in. The goal is the inspiration and somewhere to head for. The habit or system is the power behind it; the thing that gives you the drive and momentum to get there or in some cases increase your chances of getting there.
So how do goals and habits work together?
First of all, think about what your goal actually is. Fine-tune it to be specific and think about whether that goal is manageable and realistic. It’s good to have goals but if you’re intention is to achieve something that your subconscious may not easily buy into because it feels too remote from where you are now, it may not get off the starting block. Review your goal to something that feels like it’s in touching distance with a bit of a stretch. It’s a lot easier to aim for walking a mile if your exercise regime has been moving from your desk in the spare room to the kitchen to put the kettle on during the pandemic than setting your goal as the Marathon itself. If the goal is too far removed from your current mindset it can stop you even starting.
Once you’ve set this goal which feels manageable and achievable, it’s time to break it down into systems that work for you. Systems or habits are the power house of momentum that is far more likely to get you there. Here are some examples:
- Increasing fitness. Habit; to get up and walk a mile every weekday morning. Your habit or system is the getting up and walking a mile which helps you to achieve your goal.
- Weight loss. Habit; pre-plan the following day’s food in the evening so there’s no room for ‘I don’t know what to have so I’ll just grab a take-away’.
- Retrain for a new career. Habit; block out time in your diary where you focus on studying for your new role.
- Having a baby. Habit; this is more about breaking down your life in to how to improve each area to increase your chance of conception. This is quite a big area but in very basic simple terms, those habits should consider lifestyle, managing stress, diet, exercise and self-care; lots of good habits to develop there.
- Finding a new job. Habit; once you’re clear on your goal (this is definitely one to be clear on) then it’s good to create habits that help you such as working out where your new job might be and looking regularly. For some people, the perfect new job will just land without them even looking but using this as your method of choice can be a bit hit and miss.
Beware of focusing purely on the goal as it also brings a risk of complacency. Getting fit isn’t an end product. What do you do when you’ve exercised? Is that it? Goals can tempt you into thinking that once you’ve got there it’s ‘job done’. James Clear has lots of good tips in his book Atomic Habits and one of his many good points is that, ‘Success is the product of daily habits – not one-in-a-lifetime transformations’. If you give up on the good eating habits because you’ve achieved your goal then guess what? The weight just piles back on.
When breaking down the process here’s a handy way of thinking about it:
Ultimate Goal = Breakdown Goals/Habits to help achieve ultimate goal
So, for example:
Ultimate Goal: Lose a stone in weight
Breakdown Goals/Habits: 1) To pre-plan food every evening for the following day, 2) To walk 6000 steps every day, 3) Create and use 3 affirmations that help remind me of my goal which I’ll repeat every time I put the kettle on/clean my teeth/nip to the loo.
So when it comes to goals and habits, make them work for you and keep reviewing to see if you need to change or tweak them as you move closer towards your ultimate goal.
If you’d like to know more about using habits to help you in everyday life, Atomic Habits by James Clear is worth a read. You can find it here