Don’t be afraid of setting high goals and raising the standard. What do you have to lose?  Avoid falling into the peer pressure of fitting in, being like everyone else.  As you know I have four children.  Two are grown and out of the house and two are still at home.  My husband Dave and I set a pretty high bar in certain areas with our children.  We expect them to give 100% effort to their school, limit their time on wasted things such as the television and talking for hours on the phone, and we gave them a curfew.  They have designated chores to do and we tried to instill in them a mindset of excellence in all they do.

At times I doubted my standards.  Some days my kids would say, “Well so and so doesn’t have to do chores and so and so doesn’t have to do that, lighten up Mom.”   One day I was feeling like the Attila The Hun and reasoning that perhaps I had set the bar too high.  I called my grown son, and asked him if he thought I should chill and make some adjustments with the other three kids.  His response was, “No way, don’t change a thing.”  He went on to say that the discipline he learned at home helped him achieve many of the goals he had set in high school and that same mindset continues to help him in every area of his life.

Goal setting, done properly is one of the most powerful tools for personal success that we know of.  Winners in life have usually mastered the skill of setting challenging yet realistic goals, figuring out what they have to do on a day-by-day basis to fulfill them and making the commitment to do what is required.

Benefits of Goal Setting:

o  Goals direct your attention and effort in a positive direction.
o  Working to achieve your goals makes you work harder, longer, and more productively.
o  Working toward and achieving specific goals increases your feelings of
personal control and self-confidence.

Goals motivate us and keep us on course.  Think about your next airplane flight.  You are going from San Diego to New York City.  You get to the airport, pass quickly through security, board on the plane and get as comfortable as you can in your seat.  The pilot announces that they are ready to take off but he decides to fly this cross-country flight unassisted.  He is not going to use his navigation system or any type of map.  He thinks he can wing it, how would you feel?  Would you look for the nearest exit?  That scenario is no different than you thinking you can wing your fitness program and still reach your goals.  If you fail to set up a precise, detailed goal plan, you will either voluntarily or involuntarily head for the nearest exit.

Word of Caution
There is a word or caution here, if you ignore this one step you have predetermined your outcome - failure.  It is imperative that you take the time right now to evaluate your short term and long-term goals.  If you don’t, you will be destined to fail.