A Successful Fitness Family

            There is nothing I enjoy more than spreading the word about fitness and health. I talk a lot about the different aspects of health/fitness and family fun frequently and certainly able to talk until I'm blue in the face about general and specific exercise techniques. I’ve talk about the need to get the whole family involved and about different ways to do that. I’ll even talk about ways to get around obstacles when exercising isn’t enough for you and your family. I truly enjoy spreading the word.

            Today, I want to talk about goals.  We all have goals of some sort, whether they are personal or professional, we all "dream a little dram" and work towards making it happen to some degree.  What's that you say, you haven't given this much thought?  Why not?  You say you don’t have personal or family goals. Ever think about putting some down on paper? It’s a great way to get a clear idea of where you and/or your family want to go, and a great way to get the family involved and working together.

            Ask anyone in any business, and I bet either they have goals or their organization has goals, often times both do. These goals offer clearly defined directions and focus for the company and offer measurable indicators showing whether the goals are attained.

            Does this sound a little strange for the family or a little formal at the least?  If so, let me be the first to tell you, it’s not. Families can have goals, just like organizations. They may not be stated to the extent that business objectives are, but they provide clearly defined directions on how the family wants to operate.

            Follow these simple rules for goal-setting:

1. Use one idea per goal statement. Try not to mix too many thoughts together, since that makes the goal harder to measure and could lead to confusion.

2. KISS. That’s right, just like you’ve always heard — Keep it Simple Stupid. Don’t go overboard with these goals. They’re simply a way to get the family to focus on the same things.

3. Make it measurable. How else will you know when you achieve it?

4. Think short term and long term. Think about both short-term and long-term goals for the family. You decide the length of each, but understand that short-term goals easily could lead into long-term goals.

            It may be hard to come up with goals for the family. Try! Think about the kind of activities the family should do together and the best way to get there.  Want to start walking together three times a week? How about reading more as a family? Try limiting how much time is spent in front of the television and substitute it with something more productive, like drawing, coloring or game-playing. What would happen if everyone learned how to work the soil and participated in a family garden? These are only a few fun examples of family goal-setting.

        I'd really like to hear about your family and some of the goals you have set and how they were achieved.  Success stories are excellent to share with others and often are the spark and motivation for others.  Therefore, send me your stuff!  Successes, goals, achievements and I'll share some of them.  You can send any question or comment about health and fitness too to me at ophealth2003@yahoo.com.  Maybe you'll see your story right here!