A 5-Checkpoint Review for Goals that Actually Stick
A simple guide to revisiting your goals without shame, pressure, or starting over
Pretty much everyone knows how to create a goal right? But there aren’t enough people that I’ve run into that can set one that actually supports consistency in their progress to reaching their goal. Now is a pretty good time with January quickly wrapping up to review how you’re doing so far with your goals.
To help illustrate this, we’re going to walk through a real example which transparently is my goal! I’m trying my best to cook and eat at home most of the time (because delivery services are truly the devil in so many ways) but still allowing myself to have balance with my meals. Personally for me this isn’t about having a “diet”. It’s more about me adjusting my lifestyle in how I eat to be a healthier person and support my fitness goals.
So take out your list of goals and follow along with me in this checklist. If you already have done each tip, fantastic! Keep up the great work. If not, take a moment to see how you may want to adjust it. Ready? Here we go!
Checkpoint #1
Original goal:
I will not eat any junk food on the weekdays.
Let’s instead switch that to:
I will only eat my meal prepped meals and snacks on weekdays.
What changed?
The second goal is written in a positive way instead of a negative way. Framing your goals around what you can do versus what you can’t do is the cheat code in keeping your perspective in a positive mental state. Your goal is telling you what you can do on the weekdays instead of reminding you of what you can’t have which can wear on your willpower. You don’t need the reminder of what you can’t have. Motivation that is rooted in restrictions rarely lasts long. Instead switch to a direction that is based in permission.
Checkpoint #2
Include why this goal is meaningful for you near your listed goal. This can be helpful on the days where you don’t feel like doing what’s needed to achieve the goal. Write out your why. Why is this goal important? What kind of impact will it have on your life? How will it help you with your other goals? What does success look like overall for you?
Example: This goal is important to me because I desire to be more proactive and responsible regarding my health. I don’t want to take my health for granted so I want to do what I can now in my 30s to ensure I’m healthy as I get older. This will help me avoid diseases that have run in my family that I’m more inclined to experiencing. I want to have sustained energy from food that won’t cause an overload in inflammation and uneasiness. I want to be bikini ready for my Caribbean trip where I won’t feel compelled to hide my stomach. I want to see abs in the mirror when I get dressed every day. I want to feel confident and take ownership of my body and the way it looks. This will not only increase my confidence but improve my sleep and energy levels. I’ll have the energy to complete my other goals and not be too tired from having the incorrect food fuel.
Sometimes your intrinsic motivation needs a reminder of why you’re doing this to keep you grounded in making progress. Make it easy to remember by writing it down ahead of time when you’re feeling your highest level of motivation (which is usually when you first set the goal). That way you don’t have to struggle to remember it later when times get tough.
Checkpoint #3
Specifically outline how you want to reward yourself once you meet this goal. This can also add to your intrinsic motivation by identifying a meaningful way to you that can highlight your progress and success. The only rule is to make sure the magnitude of the reward is proportionate to the goal and doesn’t put the progress of your goal at risk of not being continued.
So for example:
I will only eat my meal prepped meals and snacks on the weekdays.
Reward 1: I can eat whatever I want whenever I want on the weekends if I followed my meal plan on the weekdays.
Reward 2: I will allow myself to have one cheat meal that consists of a protein, vegetable, and carb of my choosing on Saturday evenings if I followed my meal plan on the weekdays.
One of these rewards is adequate to highlight how well you did that week. The other one is risky as you can easily overdo it since there are no guardrails or boundaries outlined. Be intentional here. What is a fair reward that is supportive of your continued progress?
Checkpoint #4
Outline what steps and milestones it will require to reach your goal.
This supports you by:
1) helping you to not having to think in the moment of what you need to do next as you may already have enough wearing on your willpower
2) can remind you of the need to reward your progress, and
3) breaks down the goal in attainable steps so that you don’t feel overwhelmed when you think about your goal and thus opt out.
So back to our example:
Goal: I will only eat my meal prepped meals and snacks on the weekdays.
Execution Steps:
1 - Outline my meal plan with ingredients needed for each meal and a reminder of the recipe listed on my OneNote to reference.
2 - Go grocery shopping every Saturday to pick up what’s needed for the following week’s meals.
3 - Prep my meals and snacks every Sunday so that I can already have everything cooked and portioned out for the weekend.
4 - On Fridays, spend time reflecting on what meals worked and what didn’t to see if I need to switch out seasonings or ingredients to make meals more enjoyable for the next time.
Milestone Celebration 1: I will allow myself to have one cheat meal that consists of a protein, vegetable, and carb of my choosing on Saturday evenings if I followed my meal plan on the weekdays.
Milestone Celebration 2: On the last day of each month, I will celebrate if I stayed consistent the entire month by going out to eat at a restaurant of my choosing to have an extra cheat meal that consists of a protein, vegetable, and carb even if the last day lands on a weekday.
As you can see, it’s clear and to the point of what my expectations are of myself and how I plan to execute it.
Checkpoint #5
Did you notice it in the last checkpoint? Take a look to see if you can find it.
This final checkpoint is to a reflection time. There is no way that your plan will go perfectly the first time so let’s get rid of that unattainable expectation about your goal. Instead make sure that you spend regular time reflecting on your progress to see if any adjustments need to made to ensure you meet your goal.
One of my favorite reflection formulas as I like to refer to it is the “Start, Stop, Continue” method. It’s pretty simple as it’s structured like this:
What am I doing well that I want to continue to do to meet this goal?
What should I start doing to ensure I continue to progress in meeting my goal?
What should I stop doing to help me in my progress in meeting my goal?
It’s okay to make adjustments. Think and reflect on your experience up to that point and make fair changes where you see fit. And most importantly, don’t beat yourself up at this stage.
It will be tempting to lecture yourself if something didn’t go well but does lecturing yourself truly “help” your progress?
Nope!
It just puts you in a shameful negative state that does nothing to truly fuel your intrinsic motivation.
Remember to be kind to yourself. Respect that you’re human and that you may make mistakes. And most importantly keep going. Make the adjustment for next time and keep going. This is a journey. By honoring and respecting your limits, you’re showing yourself kindness in the journey.
Some additional questions I ask myself during this reflection time are these:
How can you make attaining this goal easier?
What support could I use to make myself more consistent?
What can I do to lessen the friction of staying aligned to my plan for my goal?
Again, this doesn’t make you weak by making those adjustments. It’s wise as you’re being intentional in paying attention to all the variables that can cause you to stumble. Ignoring that type of data is what will set you up for failure because you will eventually get so frustrated of not progressing that you’ll give up on the goal. Acknowledge what you need and adjust.
For me, I noticed at one point that trying to go grocery shopping AND prepping on the same day was overkill. I just didn’t have the energy to sustain both actions on the same day.
So instead of white knuckling through it, I asked myself how can I make this experience easier for me. How can I support myself in this?
That’s when I realized that I can just separate the actions on two separate days. Do grocery shopping on Saturdays but prep my meals and snacks on Sundays. A simple fix that doesn’t cost me anything in time but does address and support my energy needs to stick to my goal.
I hope these 5 checkpoints are helpful to you in your goal journey. No matter what your goal is remember that you CAN do it.
Usually the biggest issue is how you plan for it and if you’re setting unrealistic expectations for yourself. So plan it out but also be kind to yourself about your progress. Use those reflection moments to make adjustments where needed. Be honest about what you need for support.
And most of all, don’t beat yourself up. You’re human and that’s okay! Embrace it instead of lecturing yourself for not being super human. There isn’t such thing as a perfect human so why are you even setting the expectation of yourself that you’ll be the first one. That’s silly. It’s ok to make mistakes. Just learn from it. Revise your plan. And keep going.
Best of luck to you friend and you continue to work towards your goals! I’m rooting for you. Tell me in the comments if any checkpoints stood out to you, and share this with anyone that you’re accountability partner to of their goals. We got this!
Warmly with a cup of tea,
Rachel
