It’s often said that people don’t plan to fail, they simply fail to plan; either properly, or at all.

Planning for the sake of your health involves having a goal, or even a set of goals, which help you achieve your desired results, whatever they may be. A goal serves the same purpose/function as:

It’s not enough to say: ‘Drive in a northerly direction’ or ‘Just follow the sun’ to get from point A to point B. Or, ‘Please build me a shed for my cars and tools.’ In each case,the information lacks the important information necessary to achieve the objective.

Having goals is the key to succeeding. The following steps are the keys to effective goal setting:

1. Goals must be realistic and achievable
2. Goals must be specific and personal to you
3. Goals must be measurable
4. Goals must have a time frame
5. Goals must be written down

The principles of this formula can be applied to virtually any goal, large or small, you wish to achieve. Bigger or more complex goals just require a little more thought and planning with possibly more intermediate steps. That’s okay too, since life, with all its challenges and achievements, is an ongoing process. Remember the person who wanted to eat an elephant.