Lift The Bar

The start of a new year often brings a surge of motivation and the desire to set ambitious goals. For personal trainers, this is not only about your own fitness but also about your business and personal life. However, rushing into goal setting can lead to overwhelm and unrealistic expectations. Instead, take a strategic approach that sets you up for success without unnecessary pressure.

Below are practical tips and approaches to help you create meaningful goals for the year ahead.

 

Remove the Pressure of 1st January

While 1st January is a popular time to start working towards goals, it often forces people to cram goal setting into the festive break. This can leave you feeling like you’re playing catch-up before the year has even begun. Consider starting your strategic year on 1st February, or any date that feels right for you. This gives you time to review the previous year and plan ahead without the stress of rushing. You can decide to set new goals at any time of the year.

 

Don’t Separate Home Life and Business Completely

We all have limited resources, time, energy, and attention. If you treat business and personal life as completely separate or add extra areas like fitness and learning without considering the bigger picture, it’s easy to overcommit. Yes, you can have multiple goals across different areas, but be realistic. If you’re aiming to go from couch to marathon runner, earn a degree, have a child, and double your business size all in one year, you’re probably setting yourself up for failure.

Start with a big-picture review before diving into details. This can happen at the beginning or end of your goal-setting process, depending on whether you prefer a “top-down” or “bottom-up” approach.

 

Don’t Force Business Goals

If nothing obvious comes to mind for your business, that’s okay. It may mean things are running smoothly and, in that case, it’s often best not to interfere. Many trainers push themselves to set new business goals simply because they feel they “should”, only to regret it later. If you want a challenge, consider focusing on other areas of your life instead.

 

Approaches and Questions to Guide You

Top-Down Approach

Start with a review of different areas of your life. A life audit wheel can help if you like visual tools, mark each section (e.g., business, family, friends, finances, fitness, health, fun, personal growth) out of 10. This highlights where you want to focus your energy. Once you’ve identified priorities, break them down into outcome goals and then process goals - the actions you can control that will move you towards your desired outcome.

Bottom-Up Approach

Alternatively, start by asking questions about specific areas:

• Are your finances where you want them to be? If not, what changes are needed?
• Are you happy with how you spend your time? If not, what would an ideal week look like?
• Are your energy levels and presence with others where you’d like them to be?
• Are there skills you want to develop? Are they business related or purely for fun?
• Do you have fitness goals? If so, what events or improvements excite you?

 

Sense Check Your Goals

Once you’ve set your goals, check they’re realistic. Consider how much time you have available to work on the goals, particularly if they are new projects. Break them into actionable steps and schedule them alongside your existing commitments. Consider mental, emotional, and physical energy. Not just time. Prioritise goals, delay some if needed, and identify potential barriers. Decide how you’ll monitor progress and what support you need.

Goals should excite you and lead to a better place. They may require short-term sacrifices, but they shouldn’t drain you indefinitely. Set yourself up for success.

 

Plan and Implement

Goal setting isn’t just about identifying your goals. You need to take action. Once you know what your priority is, break it down into the actions you need to do and make a plan to get them done.  Work out when things fit in your diary and how you are going to adopt any ongoing type tasks into your daily / weekly life.

Review

Goals should be reviewed frequently.  You can plan a regular review but don’t be afraid to make changes at any point.  If you know circumstances have changed then update your goals accordingly rather than waiting for the next review date.  

When you are reviewing progress take context into account.  It’s easy to assume failure when something isn’t achieved but that isn’t a helpful approach.  Consider the reasons for it, question whether the goal is still important to you and don’t beat yourself up if you choose to discard it or amend the projected timeline to completion.

Remember: Goal setting isn’t about doing everything at once, it’s about focusing on what matters most and creating a plan that works for your life and business.

 

Use the Business Goal Setting download for more ideas.

New to LTB? access a free trial (new members only) here.