Striving to be #Goals

“I want it all that’s why I strive for it.”

-Drake

As the New Year approaches, most of us will begin to reflect on 2018 and set our sights on plans for 2019. The norm is to set goals that span the entire year. around big areas like health and wellness, finance, travel and religion. However, we often fall short of those goals because of the time span of achieving them, there is not a clear timeline or they are not specific enough.

Setting fitness goals actually helped us become better at setting overall life goals. When working towards weight loss, increasing muscle mass, building endurance, and the constant training, we had to consistently take stock of progress, what was working and what wasn’t. That’s helped us develop a few tips for overall goal setting.

Start with the big picture and dream big

This time next year, how do you want your life to look? How do you feel? What do you see? How are you using your currency: time, talent, and treasure? Taking a moment to visualize and set an intention for your life can be a scary, yet necessary first step to achieving your goals. Creative visioning comes in all forms: writing a list in your planner, creating a vision board, meditating, or writing on post-it notes that you keep near you at all times. Look at the different areas in your life, challenge yourself to dream big and ask yourself, why you want to achieve the things you desire in your life.

Give your dreams roots, by setting a goal to achieve them

Look at your big picture list and ask yourself: “Do I have the time, money, energy, knowledge, and network to achieve my big picture lists?” This question grounds your dreams in reality and helps you create goals that will serve as a roadmap for the year. This is the time to get very specific about how you want to achieve your big picture list. We believe in a holistic approach to health, so be sure to examine varying areas of your life, and set realistic, time-bound goals to help you get there.

Break larger goals down into bite-sized chunks.

Is more travel on your mind in 2019? Share your goals with us in the comments on Instagram.

This has been one the tactic that bought us most success. Breaking our 2019 list into quarterly and monthly goals allow us to focus on the small steps it takes to complete the larger picture. Remember life is a celebration, so be sure to write down small achievements to stay motivated and continue progressing. Quarterly timelines allow you to break goals down into easier chunks and allows you to celebrate wins along the way.

Set achievable milestones.

One of the ways we’ve maintained accountability throughout our fitness goals is to set “mile markers.” We have both been working on building lean muscle and that will continue to be a goal in 2019. CaCera has already signed up for her next Spartan race in April and Shawnie is planning to hit the stage for another bikini competition in June, and recently began training. By putting resources behind these goals early, we already have a timeline we are working against, are committed to these events and already set plans in motion to ensure they are in tip top shape for both. This can be applied to your overall goals as well.

Get an accountability partner.

We built Fit with Finesse to be a fun and supportive community. We are here for each other, and for you, to help you stay accountable. Scroll back through any of our articles and you’ll see this stated and restated. However, we really ramped things up, personally and in our fitness goals, when we established a space to share goals with each other. We’ve been able to keep each other in check when it comes to our life goals in general. Find a friend that you can trust to not only cheer you on, but that you trust to be honest.

Favorite Finesse Tip: Throw a Vision Board Party!

We have a friend who just has a magic touch when it comes to vision boards. We’ve thrown vision board parties and whatever this girl comes up with, comes true. There is true power in writing down your goals, whether it’s a literal vision board, or just keeping your goals in a notebook. Once you’ve written it down, it will stick with you. By writing it down in a place you will see it often, it will remain top of mind.