Outcome and Behavior Goals

We started a goal board at Forward Fitness. We want to make sure we are helping you get to where you want to be one step at a time.  And, what better way to do this than with a goal board. After all, a goal is just a wish until a plan is made. Aside form identifying your “Why,” your driving force (that’s another blog post) creating a good goal is key to success.

There are two types of goals I would like to talk about today: an outcome goal and a behavior goal. An outcome goal is result oriented and often times we do not have complete control of the result. For example, “Lose 5 pounds in one month,” would be an outcome goal.  This tells you your intended result. It can be a great long-term measure of effectiveness. However, if you only focus on your outcome goal, but do not think about the habits you need to create, success will be hard.

This is where behavior goals come in. Behavior goals are the steps you have to take in order to accomplish the outcome goal. It is something you have control over. For example, “Eat breakfast every day,” “Work out three times each week,” and “Get seven to nine hours of sleep every night,” are all behavior goals. This is where you need to keep your focus. It is a lot better to judge your success on whether or not you are achieving your behavior goals. After all, you choose whether or not you wake up early enough to eat breakfast or go to the gym. You choose if you finish binge watching the last season of Walking Dead or go to bed. These behaviors goals are the lifestyle changes that become habits and create the life you are striving to achieve.

Imagine you were succeeding in all of your behavior goals. You would feel pretty great. You could move better, your pants were fitting nicely, and you had more energy. But, what if your outcomes goal was to lose seven pounds in a month and you only lost five? You have been really successful in the past month making wonderful changes, but if all you chose to focus on was that you only lost five pounds and not seven, how successful would your following month be?  If all you do is weigh yourself and you do not see the exact progress you expected, chances are you will become discouraged.  Focus on the changes you have control over, celebrate your successes, and learn from your failures.

What’s your goal this month?