Fittest Loser Tip of the Week: How to set goals
Here are tips to increase the probability of success for your 2016 wellness goals:
1. Set specific, measurable goals. Detailed goals help you focus, making it easier to determine an end point and meet benchmarks along the way.
2. Choose goals that are meaningful to you, not somebody else. If you're doing it for yourself, rather than to please others, you'll have much more motivation to succeed.
3. Don't do what you've always done. Try something new, especially if what you've been doing hasn't worked in the past.
4. If you have more than one goal, try varying the levels of difficulty. Completing smaller goals will give you the momentum needed to achieve a big one, and small successes will keep you from obsessing about difficulties along the way.
5. Most importantly, if you mess up, don't give up. There's a world of difference between experiencing a setback and stopping. Stick with it!
Look out for more weekly wellness tips from Assurance, a proud sponsor of the Fittest Loser.
• Jill Micklow is a Wellness Consultant on the Employee Benefits team at Assurance, a Top 50 U.S. insurance brokerage headquartered in Schaumburg, IL. She brings Assurance's passion for "minimizing risk and maximizing health" to clients nationwide by helping identify specific health and wellness goals and then tailoring wellness programs for short and long-term success.