If you are dealing with a chronic disease like diabetes or high blood pressure, you may need to change some long-standing habits. To do so, you will need to set some well-thought out goals. Goal setting looks easy. Just decide what you want to do and do it-Right? Not so fast, just knowing what you want to do may not be enough.
To set a goal that you are likely to achieve, ask yourself the following questions:
1) Will I really be able to achieve this goal if I work very hard and get all the support I need?
2) What is a realistic time frame for achieving this goal?
3) If this goal is pretty challenging, how can I break it down into smaller steps so I can see progress and feel successful all along?
4) How can I reward myself as I successfully move through each step?
5) To whom do I need to speak in order to get the support I need to achieve this goal?
An example may help you see how you can use these questions to set your goals. Jonah wanted to lose 30 pounds. He asked himself whether he could honestly lose that much weight. He decided he could because he was under less stress at work and it was spring so he could walk outside after supper.
He also looked realistically at how long this would take. Even though he'd love to have all the weight off by his vacation in July, he knew that was impossible. Instead he decided that if he lost 1-2 pounds per week, he might get the weight off by his birthday in November.
He then thought about how he could break this big goal down into smaller steps. First, he focused on his food. Each week he would make one change in his eating habits. The first week he would eat five fruits and vegetables a day. The second week he would switch to diet drinks. The third week he would cut out fried food. He did the same for his activity. Each week he added more distance and time to his walking.
Next he made a list of all the non-food rewards he could give himself for each weekly change he made. He included a book on vintage cars, a new baseball cap, a CD, a new fish for his fish tank, and taking some time off from work on Friday afternoon. He also planned larger rewards for when he met his monthly weight goals like tickets to a ball game. In other words, he kept his motivation up all along instead of waiting for that ultimate reward of 30 pounds of weight loss at the end.
Finally he listed all the people he needed to talk to in order to get the support he needed for his goal. This included his wife, his mother (who loved to cook goodies for him), his kids and his friends at work. He even listed specifically what each person could do to help. Then when he talked to them, they knew exactly what he needed and didn't have to read his mind to know how to help. They felt good because they knew what to do and he felt good because they were less likely to nag him or sabotage his efforts.
So you can see that goal setting is not just deciding what you want at the end. It is taking care of all the steps in between so that you have a reasonable game plan that you and everyone else can understand and support.
Source: Rubin, R. "Reaching for Your Dreams. Diabetes Self-Management, July-August, 1999.
Debbie Wilburn is County Agent/Family and Consumer Science Agent with the Hall (770)535-8290 and the Forsyth (770)887-2418 County Extension Service,
Tuesday
August 5th, 2025
10:31PM
