I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Most
people make themselves ridiculous goals that they have no chance of keeping
like never eating chocolate or to stop drinking alcohol entirely. It’s all too
easy to get caught up in the Resolution Mayhem and not actually sit and think
about what goals you would like to achieve in the next year.
I like to break my goals down into sections: professional,
personal and running. Obviously, my professional goals include things I want to
learn in the upcoming year, clinic ideas and marketing of the clinic. Personal
goals include things I want to learn independently, books I want to read and
travel goals. The running goals I keep separate as I see them as different
challenges. It may be a desired distance, race or number of races I want to
complete in the next year.
Breaking your goals down into sections is a good way to
start without overwhelming yourself. Also, write them down or put them in a
spread sheet, this is a good way to chart what you need to do to meet your
goals. For instance, I try to read a specific number of journal articles in a
year for my professional goals. So, I keep a list in my spreadsheet of which
one I read and what knowledge I obtained from it. I also like to list my book
list for personal goals and check them off once read, truthfully, I do the same
with my race list for running.
Once you’ve sectioned off your goals, you can break them
down further. For instance, if your goal is to lose weight first, decide how
much you may need to lose (you should see your GP for an idea of your ideal
weight, don’t just guess it as it may be too low). Once you know what you need
to lose break it down by week or month. Then make your exercise plan, a
personal trainer will be able to help you with this part as it is often
difficult to decide what exercises to do when. Plus, we often choose not to put
the things we really don’t like on the list. Once you have your exercise plan,
think about your diet. What can you eat less of? What should you eat more of?
If you’re a chocoholic like myself, it is hard to give it up, however, you can
decide to eat less of it or eat dark chocolate in small doses. If you’re not
sure of what you need to eat find a good nutritionist either in person or
online and they can help you plan and determine what you need to eat based on
your activity level and goals.
By putting your small goals into a checklist of the bigger
goal you can see your results much easier. This may be in the form of a
spreadsheet or an app on your phone. Either way it is important to track your
progress and don’t be disheartened if you have a bad week occasionally, just
get yourself back on track as soon as you can. This is especially important for
anyone who has had a sports injury, nothing is worse than the setback, however if
you get appropriate rehab and advice you can be back in a healthier state.
So, if you have already set your goals or if you’re not sure
just remember to break them down and track them. If you have any questions
about sports injuries or rehabilitation, please email me:
sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk
