We made it to 2026! NIFS has your back this year, and we want to see you reach your big goals and be the healthiest version of yourself. So, where do we start this year?
The hardest part of adopting healthier habits is envisioning where we truly want to be long term. It is hard to start if we don’t know the finish line. If there is a disconnection between our intrinsic motivation and our current behaviors, then that is a good place to explore first.
Check-In / Let’s Stop for a Moment…
Take a moment to think about what fitness and wellness goals you might have for yourself. If you don’t have a clear one, you might explore areas of your life you’d like to improve upon.
In health coaching, we often use a wellness wheel activity or a self-rating scale (1-10) to gauge how you feel about your performance in different areas of life. There are eight dimensions of wellness: physical, emotional, social, financial, occupational, environmental, intellectual, and spiritual.
Think about how you might grade yourself in these areas. You may be an A+ student in physical wellness while giving yourself a D- in finances. That is okay! We are in a constant state of growth every day and taking on new opportunities.
How Can Your Strengths Help You Grow?
Lean into your strengths—they are your north star. For example, maybe you’re a student and very disciplined with your time management. You could approach a new fitness goal in terms of time management. Instead of jumping straight into a new routine, build momentum into your day-to-day schedule.
Perhaps set a calendar reminder for ten minutes of walking and some bodyweight exercises. You don’t have to reach the end goal immediately; start by using your strengths as resources. Excelling in one area can eventually help you grow in others.
Start SMART
Setting a goal with SMART formatting is a perfect way to tackle the areas of wellness you want to improve. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.
The specificity of a goal is important because lasting habits are often tied to our values. Start with an “I” statement, such as “I will be going to the gym more often” or “I will eat more whole foods.”
Measurable goals clarify how you will know you’ve made progress. For example, “Going to the gym more often… after work on at least three days every week” gives you a tangible habit and a way to track success.
Set goals that are attainable within a realistic timeline. In health coaching, we usually start with three months to adopt new behaviors, though it can take nine months or more to make them habits. A three-month goal challenges you to grow but is short enough to fit your current schedule. Be realistic about your abilities to avoid discouragement.
Let’s Put It All Together and Tackle 2026!
Remember, set yourself a goal that sounds possible to yourself in a foreseeable timeline. It may take effort, but by clearly articulating WHAT you want or WHERE you’d like to be it removes some of the challenges around the unknown. Focus on the behaviors you want to improve and hold yourself accountable to how you are measuring your progress.
Setting a weekly action plan can help with accountability. This can be something simple like 3 small actions to perform that can assist the great goal.
If your goal is to get to the gym more, then maybe you might be setting these weekly action steps, for example:
1. I’ll pack my water bottle, and gym shorts the night before.
2. I’ll turn off my email at 5pm to get to the gym.
3. I’ll look at my fit watch to make sure I hit my goal.
Keep things simple and clear for yourself. You can easily spot when you may be falling off a bit and put yourself back into gear. You will have periods of a lack of motivation or perhaps many distractions in life…
Going back to your plan and focusing on small action steps will keep you moving forward foot by foot… day by day… and year by year. If you need help in setting a SMART goal, please reach out to me at acarpenter@nifs.org. I’m a health coach (NBC-HWC) here at NIFS and would enjoy the opportunity to help you reach your long-term goals.
You’ve got this!