Being a typically ‘healthy’ person used to be someone that got their five veggies a day and drank plenty of water. These days it’s much more acceptable (thankfully) to really invest in many different aspects of your personal health and well-being. Think nutrition, fitness, rehabilitation, rest and mental wellness. There are even companies out there giving their staff not only sick days but mental health days, when things seem to get a little too much at the office or personal problems at home are taking a toll on you mentally. Employers are getting more demanding of longer hours and larger workloads but this affects employee’s productivity often in a negative way. It’s certainly time to take a step back and make your and your family’s health, in all facets, a priority.

So when investing time into your health, where do you begin? Is there a secret to setting smart health and wellbeing goals?

The most important thing, is to set goals that are achievable.

That may be starting small and working your way up, getting that sense of achievement early in the piece can often lead to you reaching more goals more often, let's call them micro goals. After all when it comes to health and wellbeing, any improvement, big or small, is an improvement.

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” - Bill Copeland

Micro goals can be set weekly or monthly depending on your schedule.

A handy hint? WRITE THEM DOWN.

By writing down your goals, you set intention in the process of becoming a healthier you. You tend to feel more accountable and let’s be honest, there’s no better feeling of accomplishment than ticking off items on a checklist!

An example of these goals could be to improve your fitness level...

  • You can run x amount in distance at the moment but want to be able to run x amount in distance by the start of next month.

How do you achieve this?

  • Interval training for five nights out of seven per week to gain fitness, and start TONIGHT!

Or perhaps lately you’ve made poor nutritional choices…

  • Start by cutting out or eating less processed foods and more whole foods.
  • Switch white bread for wholemeal or salty chips for veggie sticks with hummus.

These little decisions whilst at the supermarket have a HUGE impact on your body over time. And, if you’re not getting enough rest, there are multiple sleep aid apps, books and classes out there that can help you with guided meditation.

Collaborate with your support network

Sometimes we can get great support for the goals we set from outside parties. Your friends and family could perhaps set similar health and wellness goals, that way you can keep track of each other and push each other to make better, smarter choices. Even your health insurance provider can assist you in achieving your goals by having great programs fall under your cover. If your goal is to quit smoking (certainly not a micro goal but a huge one for your health), there are ‘Quit Smoking Programs’ that can be covered by your health insurance policy and sometimes that’s all the support you need to succeed!

Getting started is the hardest part

So start by setting a goal a week or month depending on your lifestyle. Write them down and tick them off as you go. Try to cover all aspects of what health and wellbeing means to you; nutrition, fitness, rest and mental wellness, guaranteed even the smallest improvements will make you feel better. It’s worth spending time on, after all, health is the greatest wealth.

Is your health fund supporting your health and wellness goals? Read how you can get real value from your cover.