Following health goals ideas can be a drastic game changer in your life. Especially if you haven’t been looking out for your health in a while.
Health based goals can start from having a set sleep circle, drinking less wine, or just integrating one more vegetable into your every day’s lunch. It is as simple as it sounds – but also as simple to leave out.
We all have days where we finish a stressful and exhausting day, carrying our tired body home just to drop onto the couch. Sometimes we heat up processed meals or eat junk food to at least get something into our bodies.
Our backs hurt from sitting in the wrong position all day and our eyes are itchy from the constant screen light. Being healthy really doesn’t come to our mind when we lay there all tired and ready to sleep. Tomorrow we say, tomorrow we cook a healthy meal or do a workout.
But health goals are essential for us to keep going. To keep your spine safe from long-term health issues, to not have bad eyesight by the time you turn 44. It helps us avoid stomach issues like constipation and bloating and keeps us flexible and moving. Health based goals can keep you mentally stable or help you battle obstacles that come your way in the future.
What are Health goals?
Health related goals are everything that belongs to the wellbeing of your body and soul. According to Sam Sander, health goals can start from general health conditions, like having a healthy family, to weight loss, healthy eating, fitness, and life balance. Those points I would categorize as physical health goals. Also included are mental health goals like destressing, being less overwhelmed, improving anxiety and depressions, etc.
How to Set Health Related Goals, Systems and Healthy Habits
Systems have a structure, they are a “process you follow” and, based on TNS, they give you the same result over and over again when you follow that process. If you set up a weight loss plan and you follow that plan repeatedly (assuming that the plan itself is reliable and you do not deviate from the plan) you will lose weight as long as you follow that plan.
Habits, on the other side, are actions you repeat. You can eat an apple every morning. Or drink 2 liters of water. But you do not plan a structure, a certain goal you want to achieve at the end of the action.
Building healthy habits and health systems into our lives can help us reach our goals and build a structure that won’t crumble after a short period of time. It will help us add actions that keep us moving and strong or in the opposite, help us avoid actions that drag us down.
So when planning your health based goals I want you to only concentrate on mental, and physical health goals. Building systems and healthy habits will come in chapter 3: Goal achievement.
How to set up Health Related Goals
There are in general two ways to collect health goals ideas:
- You concentrate on your bad health and find ideas and goals that can improve those areas (By daily stretching and exercising I get rid of my back pain within the next 6 months)
- You in general look for health related goals and integrate them into you life (unrelated to your current health level) (Junk food is proven to be unhealthy for me so I cut it out for the next 3 months)
(We are no health professionals. Get your health based goals approved by your doctor or health specialist before implementation)
Also, if you choose between self-based or general-based goals you can focus on the two health and wellness goals mentioned in the description.
The Importance of setting health goals
1. Physical Health Goals
Did you know that the most common (physical) health concerns are obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, the flu, and mental illnesses (Havard Health Publishing)? 42% of the world’s adults are either overweight or obese ( WHO). Close to 10 million people died of cancer in 2020 (WHO). 6% of the world population suffers from type 2 diabetes (NCBI).
All those illnesses, as well as heart disease, or any disease caused by a weak immune system, are influenced by your current lifestyle or the lifestyle you had in the past centuries.
Avoiding exercise or only having limited motion in your life increases the risk of heart diseases, obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and cancer (CDC). Actually, people who exercise regularly have a 50% reduced risk of getting colon cancer and 40% reduced risk of getting breast cancer.
The antioxidants of a healthy balanced diet also support your immune systems and also help to prevent cancer cells in your body (helpguide)
Long Term Health Goals Ideas that keep you Physically Healthy
- Not eating 4 hours before bed for the next 6 months (eating before bed can cause esophageal cancer, Lee Keller)
- Visit the doctors once a year to get a throughout checkup ( yes, this includes the dentist)
- Improving the doctors results to “healthy” within the next 5 years (this includes losing weight when it causes health problems as well as integrating vitamins and minerals if you are lacking – unrelated to your size. Please ask your doctor on how you can achieve better results)
- Getting rid of back pain within the next 12 months by exercising and stretching regularly
- Changing your sleep rhythm to 10pm to 6am until the summer workshop starts (based on your daily schedule and individually set deadline)
- Running the Sparta Obstacle Run on the “exact date”. (Get an exact date and register for a sports event right now!)
- Lose or gain 10kg until your next holiday (if you are severely under or overweight)
2. Mental Health Goals
According to The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,13% of the world’s population have mental illnesses. Many of those cases are depression, anxiety, and panic disorder (NICE).
It is certain that those suffering from a mental disease need therapy or medication (or at least a professional looking out for them regularly). Yet, in some cases exercises can ease symptoms of depression (Harvard Health Publishing).
But integrating health based goals into our lives, we also can focus on easing more day-to-day mental barriers such as feeling overwhelmed, sad, stressed, or lonely. Did you know that feeling immense loneliness can be as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (Scientific American).?
Loneliness can and will shorten your life if left unchanged.Thats why it is important to take your mental health issues as serious as your physical ones.
Long Term Health Goals Ideas to keep your Mental Health in check
- Create monthly events with your colleagues to strengthen the work atmosphere.
- Have a talk with your boss or doctor within the next 7 days if you feel burned out or overwhelmed
- Accomplish 5 actions that fight your anxiety (do one task you pushed away way too often in work, give a presentation, do something wrong, start a conversation with your colleague, drive to work)
- Go on a single trip to somewhere you can completely shut off and destress for your next summer holiday (be specific where you want to go and when)
- Volunteer every Saturday in an old people’s home or food shelter. (Again be as specific: where exactly do you go?)
- Do 10 Comfort Crusher Challenges to battle Social Fear (talk to a stranger in a coffeeshop, lay down in the middle of a public spot, etc.)
- Take one day a week off to spend time with yourself only (selfcare, crafting, day trip etc) no calls allowed.
Don’t be scared to aim too high. It will come to you slowly and steadily.
If you haven’t run for the past 20 years then you most likely can’t run 10k within the next week. But you for sure can get better and reach your goal within the next 9 months. As long as you don’t give up a lot of things are possible. So don’t hold back when defining your goals.
What are your personal health goals for 2022? Feel free to leave a comment or send us a message on our social media accounts:
This is it for today’s post. Once you reach unit 3 you will learn more about how you can set effective actions for your goals. For now, I leave you with the task to set your own health, wellness, and fitness goals and hope we see each other in the next lesson.
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Love from Germany,
Carina and Julia
