The Magician
Time to give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve taken the plunge and set your goal. Whether you’re just starting out or are ready to kick things up a notch, is most definitely a ‘well-done-you’ moment.
But let’s be honest: staying focused on your goal isn’t the only thing you’ve got on your plate, right? Because, life! And that means there may well be times where it’s a challenge to stay on track
Don’t panic. There are other things you can do as a Magician to help yourself stay on track or get back on it if things start to slide.
Be specific about your goals
As a Magician, it’s not uncommon for your attention to be pulled in a few different directions, so keeping your eyes on the prize may be more of a challenge for you than some other personality types.
One solution is taking your end goal and making it nitty-gritty specific.
It works like this: goals are more achievable when they’re SMART goals – that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related.
“Do 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio activity on five days this week,” is already measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related, but you can make it more specific by adding in some detail like, “Spend 30-minutes hula hooping before breakfast every weekday this week.”
Be kind to yourself
It’s important to remember that no-one’s perfect. You might miss a few workouts or pass occasionally on performing your activity in response to that trigger you’ve chosen as you work towards your goal – and that’s completely okay!
Rather than being critical of yourself if it happens, be kind and try to talk to yourself the same way you’d talk to a friend in the same situation. Research shows that people who do that when life doesn’t go to plan are more likely to grow their resilience, an attribute that can make it easier to stay on track towards your health goals.
Maintain your motivation
Motivation plays a key role in helping you stay on track. Why? Long story short, motivation is the drive you need to achieve your goals. And luckily there are ways to maintain it that are specific to your Magician’s personality.
5 planning and goal-setting tips for Magicians
These suggestions will help you stay the course as you work towards your movement goal.
1. Don’t overestimate your goal-kicking capacity
Because you’re a Magician, you can become easily intrigued by, and drawn to, new things.
It means you might be tempted to try to tackle a few other health-related goals on top of your movement goal. Best not to be too ambitious – research proves the brain can’t handle working on too many changes at the same time.
2. Be consistent
The fact you’re spontaneous and dynamic is one of your personality’s key strengths. But bear in mind that people who commit to exercising at roughly the same time each day wind up doing the most activity. So, if you’re planning when to exercise, remember that consistency is key.
3. Track your activity
Using an activity tracker won’t guarantee that you’ll hit your exact exercise goal, but studies do link their daily use to spending more time moving and less time being sedentary. And as a Magician who can sometimes need a little extra nudge to stay on track, it might be just the added incentive you need.
4. Write it where you can see it
Setting SMART goals to help make your planned activities occur is a great strategy. But to help you keep them front of mind, write ‘MOVE MORE!’ on some sticky notes and place them in strategic spots: put one on your computer at work and one where you stash your car keys.
Research proves that mentally linking an action (like embracing opportunities to be active) with visual cues (hello, sticky note!) equals performing that action more successfully.
5. Phone a friend
Goal-setting research proves that, regardless of personality, a little thing called accountability goes a long way. Share your goal, and the steps you’re taking to reach it with a friend and ask them to check in with you regularly for a progress update.