By Irina Almasan

Tone Every Zone

Version 1.0

The Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting A blueprint for setting goals you

actually WANT to achieve

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Introduction

Goal setting is one of the first things you do when you start exercising. And it’s an

important thing to do! Unless you figure out a destination of where you want to get, it’s

impossible to come up with a plan to get yourself there.

However, setting goals – like actually meaningful goals! - is a bit more of a process than just

saying “oh, I want to lose weight”

“The Ultimate Guide to Goal Setting” will take you through a highly effective goal setting

process. If you stick to it, at the end you will end up with a list of comprehensive goals, as

well as ways to keep yourself motivated and on track even when you don’t feel like doing

stuff.

Excited?

Then let’s get started!

PS: As you go through this guide, remember: Goal setting is an iterative process and for

some things you may not have an answer right away! That’s ok. Keep asking the question,

keep coming back to it, and eventually something will pop up!

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Table of contents:

Introduction

Step 1: Understand the principles behind motivation

Step 2: Understand your interests, likes and dislikes

Step 3: Create some preliminary goals

Step 4: Challenge your goals

Step 5: Anticipate barriers – and brainstorm solutions!

Step 6: Motivate yourself when you don’t feel like doing it

Step 7: Prepare for failure

Step 8: Your action plan

Cheat Sheet

Summary

Next steps

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Step 1: Understand the principles behind motivation

In order to achieve your goals, you need to understand how to motivate yourself.

Motivation plays a huge role in your goal setting – the more motivating you can make your

goals, the more likely you’ll want to do the daily activities needed to achieve them.

Based on research in behavioral science, here are the three fundamental principles of

motivation:

Autonomy. Which means doing:

what you want

who you want to do it with

when you want to do it, and

how you want to do it

Mastery. Striving to become better at something

Purpose. Having a deeper meaning to the “thing” that you are doing

So, when choosing goals, pick stuff you actually want to be doing, choose who you want to

do it with, and do it on your own terms.

Secondly, pick something you can work to become better at.

And finally, find something that is purposeful so you feel like there is a reason behind what

you are doing.

Ok, so that’s all great, but how do we actually come up with this stuff?

Let’s move on to Step 2.

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Step 2: Understand your interests, likes and dislikes

In order to set goals that align with the principles of motivation, you need to understand

your interests, likes and dislikes. Here are some questions to help guide you in this process:

What are some fitness/nutrition/health related things you want to learn how to do? (Note: This

ties in with the “mastery” principle of motivation, discussed above)

What are some fitness/nutrition/health related things you want to get better at? (Note: This ties in

with the “mastery” principle of motivation, discussed above)

What are some fitness/nutrition/health related things you’ve enjoyed doing in the past, and have

had success with? (Note: This ties in with the “autonomy” principle of motivation, discussed above)

What are some fitness/health related things that you absolutely despise doing? (Note: This ties in

with the “autonomy” principle of motivation, discussed above)

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Step 3: Create some preliminary goals

Based on your answers to the questions above, fill out the table below with some

preliminary long-term goals – stuff you want to achieve in the next 6 months-1year. Try to

make them SMART, but don’t worry too much if they aren’t.

S = specific

M = measurable

A = attainable

R = realistic/resonant

T = time-bound/thrilling

Note: If you’re familiar with the SMART goal setting framework, you’ll notice that the “R”

and “T” we’re using in this exercise are slightly different, and that’s on purpose.

Goal #1 Goal #2 Goal #3

Now here’s the thing - people do too many things at once! So you are going to pick only

ONE goal (the one that’s most important to you) and this is the one you’ll be working on:

My ONE goal to focus on:

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Step 4: Challenge your goals

Sweet, you’ve set some goals! I call these “surface goals. They are not your true goals.

Surprised? It’s time for you to uncover your “fundamental objectives” – the stuff you’re

really after! Uncovering these goals ties in with the “purpose” principle of motivation,

which we discussed above.

The way to do this is to ask “WHY?”

In a sense, you’re challenging the reasons why you set your goals. Why are they important

to you? Why did you set them?

This is also where it gets tricky (and a bit uncomfortable!), because the answers will not

always be apparent, but it is incredibly important that you dig deeper. So let’s go back to

that one goal that you want to focus on, and ask WHY it’s so important to you.

My ONE goal to focus on:

Why is this goal important?

Why is this important?

Why is this important?

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Step 5: Anticipate barriers that will prevent you from reaching your goals

You have to accept that, sooner or later, stuff will happen that will interfere with your plans

– it’s called life! You can get ahead of the game by making a list of these potential issues,

and brainstorming solutions that work for you!

Note: If you come up with a barrier for which you can’t think of a solution, that’s a problem.

Sometimes you really can’t come up with a solution – just be aware that it will impact how

soon you reach your goals!

Barriers to reaching my goal Solution

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Step 6: Motivate yourself even when you don’t feel like it

A day will come, sooner or later, when you won’t feel like exercising. That’s totally fine, and

normal! There are still strategies you can use to keep yourself moving.

Here are some that I’ve successfully used with my clients when they feel unmotivated.

Highlight the ones that you think will work for you. And refer back to it when you don’t feel

like working out.

Rewards. Research in behavioral science teaches us that “if-then” rewards don’t work in

the long run. An example of “If-then” rewards is: “If I do my workout five times this week,

then I can buy myself a cool new pair of runners”.

You can, however, use rewards strategically to give yourself a boost once in a while. I call

this a “booster reward”. If you are going this route, DO NOT make your rewards food based!

A new workout outfit, a mani/pedi, or a massage, for example, are awesome rewards that

will make you feel good, but don’t involve food.

Your turn: What’s your booster reward?

Do a 5 minute

workout – just some

simple moves

(squats, plank, etc)

Hit the gym and just

do a cardio machine

for 15 minutes

Go out for a walk

Do an easier workout

with lighter weights

Google a workout

video off the internet

Find a good song,

documentary,

podcast or TV show

and do your workout

while listening to/

watching it Stretch for 15

minutes Foam roll for 15

minutes

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Step 7: Prepare for failure

This section might come as a surprise to you – but the reality is that at some point you will feel like

you’ve failed and like all of your efforts are in vain.

Here’s the thing: The difference between average people and achieving people is their

perception and response to failure.

When you are faced with a failure, the better equipped you are to deal with it, the better off you

will be in the long run. Here’s what you can do when you feel like you’ve failed:

1. Take responsibility – most people blame external factors for their failure. Could the reason

for the failure be you? *gasp* Did I just say that?? Think back to your choices – perhaps they

weren’t the healthiest ones! Write down what they were:

2. Just because you failed at the “thing” doesn’t mean YOU are a failure. Let’s analyze the

situation. Were your expectations realistic in the first place? If not, why not?

What can you do differently?

3. Ok, so you failed at the “thing”. What can you learn from what has happened?

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Step 8: Your action plan

This is where rubber hits the pavement! You’ve done all this work to understand what you

want to be working towards, and now it’s time to put together your action plan.

I want you to come up with 4 things you can do RIGHT NOW to get yourself closer to your

goal. And then assign due dates for each of the tasks – that’s the accountability piece. So for

example, if one of your goals was to consistently do your workouts 3x per week, one task

for you might be to schedule these workouts into your calendar.

Your turn:

My action plan

Task Due date

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Cheat sheet

My ONE goal to focus on (for now)

Barriers towards reaching my goal Solutions

My booster reward

My action plan

Task Due date

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Summary

By now you should have a clear understanding of:

The 3 key principles of motivation, and why they are crucial in your goal setting

process

Your interests, likes and dislikes, which will then guide you in your goal setting

The reasons why you want to achieve your goals

Issues and barriers that will prevent you from reaching your goals, and solutions to

get around them

Ways to motivate yourself when you don’t really feel like exercising, so you’re still

doing something!

Ways in which you can prepare yourself for failure – because there will definitely be

some!

Things you can do RIGHT NOW to get yourself closer to your goals

I hope you’ve found this guide useful and practical, and that you will ROCK your goals!

Resources used in the creation of this guide:

1. Daniel H Pink, “Drive”, Riverhead Books, 2009

2. John C. Maxwell, “Failing Forward”, Nelson Books, 2000

3. Mark Manson, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”, Harper Collins, 2016

4. Simon Sinek, “Start with WHY”, Penguin Books, 2009

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Next steps

Hey there! I’m Irina, the author of this resource!

After being skinny unfit for the majority of my life,

I discovered fitness by accident once I started

working out with my husband.

Since then, I have made it my mission to help

other busy individuals and couples juggle a hectic

lifestyle while staying active. I believe fitness CAN

be an integral part of everyone’s lives, regardless

of our circumstances – sometimes all is needed is

a personalized approach!

Now that you are clear on your goals and your action plan, I would love to provide you with

the necessary tools and even a kick from behind, to help you get there!

Visit www.toneeveryzone.ca/breakfree, or click the button below.

Copyright © 2017 by Irina Almasan. This document is the property of Tone Every Zone. All rights reserved. No

parts of this resource may be reproduced or distributed without the prior consent of the author

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