Health/Fitness/Nutrition
Making Your Goals a Reality
By Jim Coughlin
Mar 17, 2007 - 11:44:00 AM

Anything you do in life requires the implementation of goals. Goals are your dreams, aspirations, ambitions to be or do whatever it is you want to accomplish in your life.

The beauty of goal setting is that it works in every facet of your life. Your marriage, health, kids, job...ANYTHING. Without goals your life is pretty much meaningless.

There are two types of people; people who achieve their goals, or people who find ways why they can't.

People who achieve their goals are detail-oriented and have a specific plan that will enable them to succeed. They don't make excuses or complain why it's so hard or dwell on problems that may arise. These types of people are solution-oriented. They know that the goal will require hard work, but they are determined to achieve the objective at hand.

People who don't achieve their goals are disorganized and have a generalized plan that will ultimately lead them to fail. They would rather complain instead of focusing on what they have to do. These types of people are problem-oriented. They don't want to work hard and would rather make excuses why they can't achieve the goal.

In my opinion, goal setting is the single most important aspect of your fitness plan. It's the blueprint, the script, the nucleus, the centerpiece, the focal point of everything that will help you succeed.

When I first started training clients, I was never really serious about goal setting and although I did well, I could have done so much better.

Today, I don't even consider training a client unless he or she knows exactly what their goals are and are willing to do anything and everything to accomplish them. I have them make goals that are daily, weekly, monthly and yearly.

Fact is, once I started to clearly define goal setting with clients, my success rate shot through the roof!

Usually, clients would come to me for weight loss and it didn't matter how much weight they wanted to lose. Once I programmed them to constantly be working toward their goal, the weight would come off so effortlessly; it was like shooting fish in a bucket!

It's not because I am the best trainer in the world, or because I know of some secret weight-loss formula - not at all.

I know how to teach my clients how to set goals and most importantly how to help them understand that they CAN achieve them, IF they stick to the plan.

Now, let's go back to the people who achieve their goals and people who don't.

Which one are you?

There is no reason in the world why you can't be the person who achieves their goals.

As Henry Ford once said:

"If you think you can or think you can't, you're right."

Life is nothing but decisions. You decide to succeed. You decide to fail. You decide to be happy. You decide to be sad. Even if you make mistakes along the way, it's your decision to keeping working hard or it's your decision to give up. In my opinion, there's no in-between. You decide to be a winner or loser.

So let's say your goal is weight loss, which most of the time it is when it comes to fitness and health. Ask yourself these important questions:

How much weight do I want to lose?

What will happen if I don't lose this weight?

What will happen if I do?

How will I feel if I lose this weight?

Do I know exactly how I will do it?

Can I achieve it by myself or do I need someone's help?

What is my time frame for losing it?

What is stopping me from losing this weight?

If you are someone who has set crystal clear goals for themselves, you should be able to answer these questions easily. If not, you will unfortunately struggle. Again, it's YOUR decision.

So, are you ready to make your goals become a reality? I hope so! Nothing is stopping you but what's between your ears. I'm positive you will make the right decision. Set goals and achieve them! It's really pretty simple. You can do it!

Jim Coughlin is a personal trainer and the owner of Coughlin Fitness & Results, a nationwide personal training company. He is also the author of Home Fitness Secrets to Success, a helpful guide to successful in-home fitness in addition to many other popular fitness articles.

Jim is very passionate at motivating people to empower themselves to live a healthy lifestyle through consistent exercise and proper nutrition. He has free weekly success tips which you are welcome to subscribe to on his website http://www.fitnessandresults.com

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