Health Goals vs. Intentions: The Key To Creating A Lasting Healthy Lifestyle

Food For Your Soul: Dawn McGee

There’s an old saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” It’s commonly used in the finance world to talk about the importance of working toward building wealth. But what does that have to do with your health?

Why Today Is The Best Time To Prioritize Your Health:

Ever notice how easy it is to make plans with others, but when it comes to ourselves, we often let them slip? We get caught up in our heads, worrying that we’ll fall short of our goals. In an effort to be a high performer, we do nothing. Seems silly, right? Just know this – today is the best time to prioritize your health.

“We get caught up in our heads, worrying that we’ll fall short of our goals.”

Small Changes Lead To Big Results:

Here’s the good news: You don’t have to overhaul your life with dramatic shifts to see meaningful improvements. In fact, drastic changes can often backfire. They aren’t sustainable! Instead, it’s about making the small, incremental changes—1% at a time—that can seamlessly become part of your lifestyle.

These tiny steps might seem insignificant at first. You may feel like you’re not accomplishing anything. It will be tempting to give up. But over time, these small changes build up. You’ll wake up one day and notice, hey, I’ve got more energy. I’m sleeping better. I feel stronger in my body. My clothes fit better. I can climb stairs or play pickleball without feeling worn out!

But how do you do it? How do you stay accountable and on track? Let’s talk about the difference between making plans and setting intentions, and why following through on your commitments to yourself is so important.

Are You Setting Health Goals Or Intentions?

This is the difference between goals and intentions – goals are important because they’re specific. They set the bar. But intentions are about the big picture. Intentions remind us of the purpose of our goals. You may have heard this referred to as your “WHY”. They keep us on track even when we can’t meet those goals. You need both goals and intentions to create a healthy lifestyle.

But what really makes intentions effective is making plans.

I recently had a classic situation that got me thinking about goals, intentions, and planning. Here in the Northeast, it started raining one afternoon—not as bad as the hurricanes hitting the Southeast, but enough to cancel my outdoor pickleball class. Now, I could have just written off my daily movement and thought, “Well, I intended to be active today, but it’s raining, so maybe tomorrow.”

“I want you to know: you can do it!”

Instead, I reminded myself: I had a plan for my intentional movement today. And when I make a promise to myself, I honor it. So I found an open spot at my Pilates studio. After class, I grabbed my rain gear and walked around my favorite pond. I got creative, and despite the rain, I got my movement in–and it felt great!

I was able to hold myself accountable to getting in my daily exercise because I had a plan. And even though I couldn’t execute my plan, the intention I’d set helped me reframe my plans, creating a brand new plan that worked!

You’ve Got This!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the idea of starting your new healthy lifestyle, I want you to know: you can do it! Find support from a friend or a professional (like me!). Write your intentions in a journal every day. Or text a friend. Or post on social media. Do what works for you. And no matter what, don’t give up. You’ve got this!

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