If you hang around with people over 50 for very long, eventually you will hear someone say, “I know I need to get healthier.”

They’ll get some “me too’s” and then the conversation will shift to something else.  You and I both know that just saying I need to get healthier does nothing.  You need a specific plan to reach the first goal to make something happen.

Google is full of meal plans and workout plans, but if you don’t have a plan for your thoughts and how to put it into action, you will struggle to make it sustainable.

Prepare and Plan

Setting yourself up for inevitable success takes planning.  The word, ‘inevitable,’ is defined as assured or certain to happen.  If you want to make sure you are inevitably successful with your goals, you need to prepare and plan.  This is not magic or voodoo, although when you do plan, your success rate is magically improved!

Be Specific

Decide what it is you want to achieve and be specific.  If you want to be healthy, that’s great—but what does that mean?  Do you want to lose weight—how much?  If you want your blood cholesterol numbers to decrease—what numbers do you want to see?

Make It Measurable

Be specific and make sure your goal is measurable—so you’ll know if you’ve reached that marker or not.  Number of pounds of weight loss is measurable.  Blood cholesterol numbers are measurable, too.  Numbers of times worked out per week is also measurable.  ‘Being fit’ is not an easily measured goal.

Make It Achievable

When you’re setting up your success plan, be sure that your goal is actually achievable and reachable.  If your goal is to lose weight and you set a goal to lose 50 pounds in a week, that’s not a reasonable or achievable goal. Don’t set yourself up to fail by setting a goal that is impossible.  Break it down into smaller chunks if your goal is lofty and spread it out over time.

What’s Your Why?

Setting a relevant goal will help you be successful because there is a ‘why’ attached to the outcome.  An example would be to lose 10 pounds before a big event—maybe a wedding event or a high school reunion. When there is a why and the goal is tied to that result, it helps keep you motivated to succeed.

Time Limits

Always set a time limit to your success goals.  Without a time commitment to achieve your goals by a certain date, the goals are merely wishes.  Having a realistic deadline for your goals will help ensure you reach them.

Action Plans

Now that you’ve set your SMART goal—it’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely, it’s time for your action plans.

Break It Down and Schedule

What do you need to do to reach this SMART goal?  Break it down into small chunks if that’s the best way to reach the goal by your time deadline.  Once you know what those action steps are—schedule them into your calendar and honor that commitment to yourself.  Treat these appointments on your calendar as if they were scheduled with your doctor or coach and make it non-negotiable.

Don’t Forget About Pre-Planning

If you need to do pre-planning in order to make the action steps happen, be sure to incorporate that into your schedule, too.  An example of this would be the following: Your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight.  You determine an action step would be to take a salad to work every day as your lunch.  You also plan to cook healthy balanced meals at home for dinners instead of grabbing fast food on the way home.  You’ll need to plan out your dinners, make a shopping list for your meals and salads and schedule shopping and food prep on the weekend.  You may also need to schedule more food prep mid-week in order to be successful with this goal.  Break down the steps to make sure you’re scheduling in all the parts in order to be successful.

Setting yourself up for inevitable success is all about the planning.  Plan out your SMART goal, create your plan and work your plan.  This is actually a simple concept although it does take time.

In my Fueled For Fun program, we work through the thought plan and the action plan together before we ever address the “meal plan” for food, sleep, exercise, and self-care.

Here’s to your inevitable success!  If you want the fast pass to success, join my Fueled For Fun program!