Ok, so there isn't such a thing as a 'bad' fitness goal, but here are three health and fitness goals to maybe avoid if you want long-term change.

1. Having outcome-based goals instead of behaviour-based goals

Outcome goals decide how we want things to be at the end of the process. But you can't make your body do what you want it to. No matter what you put in, your body is going to use that to best suit its purpose: to keep you surviving, and then hopefully thriving.

Thing is with you body - it actually ALWAYS wants the best for you. It's literally on your team every second of every day. Behaviour-based goals honour these intentions more; they often honour your body more. And long term health ends up taking care of itself.

2. Turn 'avoid' goals into 'approach' goals.

'Avoid' goals are psychologically counterproductive (e.g. 'I'm never eating chocolate again, I'm giving up pasta!'). Because telling yourself to stop doing something almost guarantees you'll keep doing it. And more than that, it can tap into parts of us who get scared or don't like the feeling of restriction, denial, or scarcity.

'Approach' goals focus on feeling good. About doing good for ourselves. A classic example here is a client I was working with around nutrition. 'Well I just need to open this really nice cookery book that I have and make three meals out of it' was her goal. We'd just been talking how stressed and not fun food overall had been feeling for her. 'So, as you say that, imagining yourself doing that - how does that feel?' I ask. Stress, and not fun. Ok then, let's start looking for the joy in food again. Now that's the approach.

3. Focusing on 'performance' goals instead of 'mastery' goals.

Performance goals are often limited by factors outside of your control. Mastery is different. Why did Federer not stop playing tennis after he won Wimbledon once? Because he was after mastery of tennis. Not just winning one - the performance of the sport.

Mastery, for us, emphasizes getting a little bit better each day at a particular skill.

I started playing piano from scratch, with no music experience really, last October, and I specifically opted out of any exams.

Why?

Because it's a mastery goal. I don't want to be able to perform the piece. I like playing around on it, getting blooming frustrated that I can't do it - frustration is a really awesome stimulus for your brain to adapt, so I really welcome it as an (uncomfortable) part of learning. And then I go back again tomorrow to play again.

Mastery is motivating no matter what else is going on.

Need some help realizing your long term, holistic health goals?

Try us out, and get a feel for what we do, with our intro offer.

Or dive into one of our short courses (Peaceful Eating starts next week).

Maybe you don't need a new goal for September.

Maybe we just need to make the one you have right now a little kinder, and a better fit for you.

That's what we can do.