Read Our Latest Blog Articles

Supporting you on your journey to easy, lasting health and happiness

Transformation

The Epic Goal-Setting Fail

July 07, 20235 min read

“You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.” - Les Brown

If you'd prefer audio, you can enjoy a deeper dive on our corresponding podcast episode:

Custom HTML/CSS/JAVASCRIPT

In the health and wellness industry, we have a long-time tradition of setting goals.

And how’s that working out for you?

I mean can you even remember the last goals you set?  Or your new year’s resolutions for this year?

This happens because most goals are outcome focused,

For example- I’m going to lose 15kg this year; run a marathon by July or make $50k in sales in the first quarter – you can make these goals as SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and time-related) as you like, but they are still based around achieving an outcome – something that you will HAVE at some point in the future.

And the problem with this is that when you start with the outcome, you’re arranging your life in the HAVE-DO-BE model.

“When I HAVE more time/money/energy, I’ll be able to DO the things I want to, and then I’ll BE happy and successful."

Sore knee

This is a problem because you’re saying to yourself that you can’t BE who you want to be until you HAVE that outcome.

You also don’t have 100% ownership over the outcome. Weight loss might not come as easily as you hoped, you might injure yourself training or external market factors might affect your sales.

And this can start to put you in a bit of a victim mentality, because you’re starting to identify yourself with what you don’t HAVE, especially if that’s because of outside factors.

This makes it even harder to stick to your plan to achieve that goal.

Plus humans have never been very great on making choices based on a distant future possible outcome!

Another approach is to start taking more ownership of our goals and centre them more on your actions - the things you can DO to achieve the outcome.

For example, instead of saying “lose weight”, you could say I will “follow a Keto diet this year”, while run a marathon” might become “train 3 x a week for 6 months” and “increased sales” could be reframed as “create 3 TikToks a week."

Woman exercising in class

The benefit of these kinds of goals is that you take 100% ownership - these are all things that are 100% within your control - you’ll either do them or you won’t. It’s entirely up to you.

This is the DO-HAVE-BE model, and in this one we are saying...

”The more I DO, the more I’ll HAVE. And then I’ll BE happier."

I feel like you can probably see the problem with this approach. You, it’s a complete and utter downhill spiral to BURNOUT.

You can just NEVER DO ENOUGH.

And although you’ve now taken back ownership and responsibility for achieving these goals, they still focus very much on defining yourself by what you HAVEN’T DONE YET.

But thankfully, there is an alternative - the BE-DO-HAVE model and this one says...

“Who do I need to BE, to start doing the things I want to DO in order to create the outcomes I want to HAVE.”

This model invites you to step into your best self TODAY … to start showing up in your LIFE as your own creation RIGHT NOW!!!

Instead of our earlier examples, you could say...

“I am a person who MAKES HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES.” - because you can be that right NOW… not in 3 months or a year… right now – even if you weren’t doing it yesterday.

Woman facing sun with arms upraised

Or you could say...

“I am a DETERMINED person who trains 3 x a week, rain, snow, hail,” because you can still be that today even if lately you’ve felt like giving up.

or you could go for...

“I SHOW UP CONSISTENTLY to create 3 TikToks every Monday morning” and BE that person even when you don’t feel like getting out of bed that day.

So who are you going to BE?

You can start by reconnecting to your highest values and then you can BE the person living in alignment with those values. 

Because if you REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE, then you make it easier to step into your best, authentic self.

And I get it… easier said than done to just step into those shoes.  We’re all held back from being our true, authentic selves from so many fears and limiting beliefs.  But this shift in perspective is just the first step towards becoming the person climbing YOUR healthy, happy mountain.

Keep it simple – don’t create some unattainable perfect person for you to step out as today!

And if you’re struggling to even think about making time for you right now, then watch out for next week’s episode, where we dive into how exactly you are spending your one wild and precious life and how you can free up more time for YOU!

Because it is the choices you make and small actions you take in each moment that define your life.

And if you'd like our "Top 10 Most Wanted Bitesize Health Hacks" to get you started, you can download your Bitesize Health Hacks Kickstart 10-day Challenge right now - absolutely free.

So who will you BE in this moment?


If you enjoyed this article, then you might like to be part of the Fit, Fired-up and Fabulous Tribe!🎉 The Tribe isn't just another wellness program; it's a comprehensive transformation journey for your mind, body, and soul.

Whether you're battling burnout, struggling with weight gain, or feeling lost in a sea of unhealthy habits, the tribe is your roadmap, guide and travel buddies to rediscovering your health and happiness.


Man carrying rocks

blog author image

Suze Robertson

Suze is a Health and Performance Coach who helps make life easier for stressed-out souls, so that they can live their best fit, fired-up and fabulous lives.

Back to Blog

© 2023 Eat Sleep Play Repeat - All Rights Reserved,