Avoid these five common mistakes when setting goals

Despite being an October baby, I can easily say January is my favourite month. I love the fresh energy the new year brings and I am a sucker for setting goals. While we don’t need a new year as an excuse to do this, there is something special about using this time to check in, realign and set new intentions for the year ahead.

I know there’s also a lot of people who don’t share my overwhelming excitement for setting goals and instead feel unenthused and a wee bit overwhelmed by the whole process. If you’re in this boat - this post is for you.

I want to share with you five common mistakes I see people make (and I’ve personally made in the past too) when setting goals.

1. Not reviewing / reflecting first. When setting new goals, it’s so important that we reflect on the past year to see what worked and what didn’t otherwise we often repeat the same patterns. This is why the first step in my goal setting formula is reflecting on the past year and writing a few lists: what worked well? What am I proud of / grateful for? What didn’t work well / what am I not so proud of? What am I leaving behind as I move into this new year? This will really help you to be intentional as you set your new goals and recognise what’s no longer serving you.

2. Setting goals which are not truly meaningful to you. I’ll give you a really common one: “I want to lose weight.” Why? What is it about losing weight that is actually meaningful? The number is just a number. What you’re really looking for is a feeling. It might be to have a more intuitive relationship with food, to feel stronger in your body, to feel more energised throughout the day, to improve your insulin resistance. What is it that you’re actually seeking? My biggest tip for this particular example is to set a goal which is centred around improving your health. As Dr Libby says - “we often think we need to lose weight to be healthy, but the opposite is true: we need to be healthy to lose weight.”
   
   Something I find really helps me set goals that are meaningful to me is writing a letter to myself from the end of the year ahead. I picture myself at the end of 2024 having achieved everything I set out to achieve and writing about what my days look like. This really helps me visualise my daily routines and be intentional with setting goals on how to get there.

3. Go ALL IN and get overwhelmed. I know it’s tempting to jump in and do everything all at once - I so used to be this person. However, one of the most important aspects of setting goals is: breaking them down into manageable steps. A quote from a book I’m reading at the moment (The Everyday Hero Manifesto by Robin Sharma) which is so poignant to this point - “small, consistent and regular always beats all fire and bravado at the beginning with a gigantic flameout at the end.” SLOW AND STEADY, BABY! It is so important to break down your overall yearly goals into smaller monthly, weekly and daily goals.
   
   For example: if one of your goals is to run a half marathon but you’re currently not a runner, then setting a goal of daily running is going to feel overwhelming and hard. Some examples of monthly goals might be: starting the ‘couch to 5k’ program / buying appropriate running shoes. A weekly goal might be booking in 3 time slots in your week where you dedicate to walking / running and establishing this habit. A daily goal might be to ensure you’re drinking enough water to help energise you for these runs.
   

4. Not using motivation hacks. Here’s the thing about motivation - it comes and goes, and it’s bias towards things which are pleasurable and easy. Usually things which spark growth are the opposite of this. Accept that a lot of the time you’re not going to feel particularly motivated to do the things you need to do - BUT - you can use motivation hacks to make things easier. So when you’re setting out your daily / weekly goals - think about - how could I make this easier and more enjoyable?
   
   Examples: if a goal of yours is to go to the gym, you might get your clothes out the night before (easier) and you might arrange to go with a friend (enjoyable).
   If a goal of yours is to cook more home-cooked dinners you might use the recipes from Deliciously Balanced Dinners which take less than 30 minutes to make (easy) and taste great (enjoyable).
   

5. Not tracking your progress or revisiting your goals. That which is measured is managed. There are various ways in which you can do this - personally I am highly driven by the dopamine hit of ticking a check list so I’ll always be an old school pen and notebook kind of gal, but I have also used digital planners, notes app and various other journals and habit trackers. Do whatever works for you and helps you to check in and keep track. Have a process of reviewing your goals (weekly and/or monthly) where you check in and recognise what’s working and what isn’t. If you haven’t consistently stuck with a goal/habit - perhaps you need to change your approach or think about whether this is still aligned.

“”small, consistent and regular always beats all fire and bravado at the beginning with a gigantic flameout at the end””

— Robin Sharma, The Everyday Hero Manifesto

I hope this has been insightful and helps you with setting your goals for the year! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts, and if you think this post would help a friend, I would be so grateful if you passed it on!

If one of your goals this year is to help improve your relationship with food, I am so excited to announce that I will be relaunching my Nutrition Harmony course late Feb! You can learn all about it and join the waitlist here.

With love,

Nic x