Feature: Goal Setting Success in the New Year and Beyond
t i ng Goal-Set
s s e c c Su nd w Year & in t he Ne
B eyo
“You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.” - C.S. Lewis
By Kristyn Morgan
It’s the beginning
of a new year and a time when many of us set new goals for improvement. There is something about the idea of starting out a new year striving to be our better selves that often leads us to set lofty resolutions. Sadly, however, often by the end of the first month our goals have fallen by the wayside. How many of us have started the day on January 1 with visions of getting organized, losing weight, or finishing that college degree, only to find ourselves right back to where we started by the time February rolls around? I’ll admit I’ve done this many times, but it doesn’t have to be the case. In an effort to determine how we can be successful at achieving our New Year’s resolutions (or any goal for that matter), I spoke with some local individuals who have experience setting and accomplishing goals of their own. I was inspired by a local mother/daughter duo Kallie and Lilia Conrad of Washougal. Lilia (age 9) has grown up watching her mother Kallie set and achieve a number of running goals including running 16 half marathons (some while pregnant!). This past year Kallie determined she wanted to run a mile in less than 8 minutes. “It is something I was able to do prior to having my fourth baby,” she says, “but something I’ve struggled to reach since suffering
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an injury during birth.” By taking it one month at a time and developing a positive mindset, Kallie recently achieved this goal. Because of her mother’s example, Lilia decided to set a goal of her own this last year. As Lilia said, “My mom likes to run and hike and I want to be like her.” In that spirit, Lilia set out to hike 100 miles over the course of several months. Along the way she learned it wasn’t always easy, but with her mother’s example and encouragement she succeeded. Kallie’s advice to supporting kids in their own goals? “Help them have fun reaching their goal, encourage them along the way. Ask them what their goals are and help them make a plan.” Clearly this strategy worked for Lilia. Having a plan is a marker of success for achieving any goal. Marnie Starrett, a local Certified Professional Christian Life Coach offers advice for creating such a plan:
Understand your “why.” What is your reason for setting the goal in the first place? Without a clear “why” it may be hard to stick to your plan when your motivation is lacking, or life gets hectic. It’s important to keep your reason for wanting to achieve your goal at the forefront of your mind. Tape your goal to your mirror, set it
Vancouver Family Magazine • www.vancouverfamilymagazine.com • January 2018
as your screen saver on your phone, or journal your reasons for setting the goal and refer to them often.
Set an achievable time frame. Too often we set unreasonable goals and then get discouraged when we can’t achieve them in the time frame we have determined for ourselves. “Many people set New Year’s resolutions thinking they’ll do this one giant thing in a year, but don’t have a realistic time frame. Then February 1 rolls around and the goal hasn’t been acted on yet,” says Starrett. To prevent this, Starrett suggests breaking down your goal into monthly, weekly, and daily actions.
Reward yourself along the journey.
It’s important to recognize the small wins along the way to achieving your final goal. If you have a goal to lose 50 pounds, reward yourself for every 5 pounds lost so you recognize your progress. Lilia Conrad marked her success by tracking her miles hiked on a chart so she could see how far she had come. Her mother Kallie, marked her own progress at running a mile in under 8 minutes by testing herself once a month and noting her improvement. continued on page 22