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Stress Relieving or Goal Achieving?
Believe it or not we all have goals. Whether it is a general goal to lose weight or a specific goal to put $100 thousand dollars in your retirement account over the next 5 years, we all have goals. However, are you achieving the goals you set?
One reason that people do not achieve their goals is because they don’t have a clear definition of what they want or even how to get there. If you know you want to lose weight then define how much weight you want to lose and by when. Then map out your path to your goal. Make your path realistic with some flexibility.
While on your path to your goal, you may run into bumps in the road. These bumps derail many people and they never get back on the path. When you hit one of these bumps, whether it is from boredom or an emergency, you still need to focus on your goal in order to achieve it. Say your goal was losing 25 pounds over six months and you lost 15 pounds after three months then you just hit a plateau and didn’t lose any more weight in the fourth month. At this point look at your activities and ask yourself “is this activity stress relieving (eating that ice cream cone because you had an argument with your boss) or is this activity goal achieving (going for a brisk walk because you had an argument with your boss)”. Put your activities into perspective of your goals.
The next time you hit that bump in the road go for the goal achieving activity. You will notice a great difference in your attitude and you will reach your goal a lot sooner!
Making the right choice.
It can be very challenging to make the right choice between goal achieving and stress relieving when you are in a stressful situation. Believe it or not, the situation can become much easier to handle if you anticipate it and then practice your response in a nonstressful situation. For example, let’s go back to our ice cream eating. If you knew your boss is in a bad mood and when you argue with him it is a trigger for you to want to eat ice cream, then silently practice walking away from him and going for a quick walk. You can even write a few affirmations down that you will go for a walk if you argue with your boss. Then if the stressful event happens you will already know what to do. If you want the ice cream, then eat it on your own terms so you have control. In any event, find out what will work for you to maintain those health goals in times when they could be easily broken.
