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Are you among the 70% of Australians who use the start of the year to set some goals? With 2023 well underway, it is a great time to reassess your New Year goals and resolutions and think about what you really want to achieve. Whether your goal was to quit smoking, improve your dietary habits, lose weight, or become more physically active, things don鈥檛 always go to plan. Sometimes we get distracted and lose focus, and this impacts on our commitment to sticking to the strategies which step us towards those goals. It鈥檚 also important to plan for relapses, so you know what to do when the energy and excitement of reaching your goal wears off.

A study by Oscarsson and colleagues (2020) found that people with approach-oriented goals were significantly more successful than those with avoidance-oriented goals (58.9% vs. 47.1%). That is, the people striving to reach or maintain a desired outcome were more likely to reach their goals than those who were focused on avoiding or eliminating an undesired outcome. For example, 鈥淚 will exercise to stay strong and fit鈥� (approach-oriented) versus 鈥淚 will exercise to avoid heart disease鈥� (avoidance-oriented).  

1 Set SMART goals 

Is your goal specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time framed? If your goal is vague, you won鈥檛 know if you have reached it. For example, if your goal is 鈥渢o lose weight鈥�, try redefining your it to 鈥淚 want to lose 5kg in the next six months鈥�, then work out some strategies to help you achieve this. Make sure you write your goal down and keep it where you see it regularly. 

2 Think ahead 

What obstacles or barriers might pop up over the coming weeks and months? Be thoughtful about what you want to achieve but realistic about potential hurdles. Preparation is key to success so it鈥檚 always helpful to plan ahead and make changes as appropriate. 

3 Ask for support 

Recruit your friends and family to help support you towards reaching your goal. This might include someone at home assisting you with meal preparation or joining you as your workout or walking buddy. This helps with accountability and can increase motivation for making and sustaining lifestyle changes. 

4 Try documenting your progress 

Write it down! If you鈥檙e striving to lose weight, write down what you ate, document how much exercise you do, and weigh in each month to track your progress. It鈥檚 a great visual to see all the hard work that you鈥檝e done! Not only that, but it will provide some insight into what鈥檚 working and what is not. 

5 Focus on one goal at a time 

You might be working towards achieving several health goals but perhaps you need to focus on the most important goal first? This could be the goal that will have the greatest impact on your health and wellbeing, and that will likely have a positive impact on other areas of your life. 

6 Embrace the process 

Making lifestyle changes is not easy, because it鈥檚 different and it鈥檚 a change to your routine or habit. Embracing change means鈥痽ou want to try new things, be adventurous, or improve yourself. If you miss a day of walking or eat something you were trying to avoid, don鈥檛 beat yourself up, just start again tomorrow. 

By Hayley Nicholson, Exercise Physiologist and Credentialled Diabetes Educator