“I want to be more outgoing.” “I want a Jessica Biel bikini bod by Spring Break.” “I want to rock my classes this semester.” “I want to eat healthier this year.” “I want to put myself out there more.”
With a New Year and new semester, collegiettes™ across the nation are reevaluating their lives and making goals. We’ve enlisted the help of Amanda Casgar, the lululemon athletica Area Community Manager of the Eastern U.S., to explain to us how to effectively and successfully set and maintain our goals. If you’ve already had some trouble sticking with your goals, lululemon’s goal-setting program and Amanda’s tips are sure to help!
lululemon Goal Setting:
Goal setting plays a key role at lululemon. In fact, all of their employees are required to set 10-year, 5-year, and 1-year goals within thirty days of being hired. Employees start by drafting their 10-year goals relating to all aspects of life including career, personal, and health. From there, employees work backwards, creating smaller, short-term goals to help them reach their more long-term goals.
For those of you who aren’t lululemon OBSESSED like me, there are six core principles that are important to consider when drafting your goals: possibility, vision, balance, audacity, format, and integrity. Are your goals organized and attainable? Can you see yourself accomplishing them? Are your goals balanced across all aspects of your life? Are you challenging yourself and pushing your own personal limits? Are you honoring your goals and sticking to them? According to lululemon, these are all important questions to consider when drafting your goals.
If you feel like trying the lululemon goal-setting program, definitely check out their website and download their visions and goals worksheet. The site is super helpful and the worksheet will keep you on track and honest!
Amanda’s Advice:
As I mentioned before, Amanda Casgar, the lululemon Area Community Manager of the Eastern U.S., was kind enough to provide HC BC with some tips when it comes to goal setting. Here is just some of her advice:
1. “Send your goals and your goal progress to family and friends on a daily basis. I even send my goals to my boss! I shared my goal of wanting to go to London with lululemon for the Olympics with my boss and colleagues because then they all knew about my goal and could help me achieve it!”
2. “Post your goals in a spot where you can see them everyday. lululemon employees post their goals on a wall in each of our retail stores to serve as a constant reminder of what they are striving to achieve. One of the best stories I have about public posting of goals has to do with a lululemon educator. She posted her goals on the fridge in her apartment and one of her goals was to have a boyfriend. Her best guy friend came over one day and saw it. He had been into her for a while, but didn’t have the courage to make a move. Once he saw her goal, he gained the courage and they now have a ‘happier ever after’ ending.”
3. “Visualization is key. Pick a moment in time and try to imagine what your perfect life would look like in that moment. It should be like a movie scene playing out in your head. Once you can fully visualize that moment, start working backwards to figure out how you can make your vision come to life.”
4. “Challenge yourself! You want to create goals that are attainable, but still a stretch. You should only be achieving about 50% of your goals.”
5. “Give yourself time! Achieving your goals doesn’t need to be a sprint. It should be more of a marathon journey. Let your goals progress authentically and naturally. Don’t rush yourself and don’t feel stressed if achieving your goals takes longer than expected.”
6. “Goals aren’t set in stone. Many people are intimidated by goal setting because they think that once a goal is created it can’t be changed. This is not the case and goals can always be revised.”
7. “You’re young and have lots of opportunity, so take it! Goal setting is all about creating a strategy for your life. Think about your life at 30 – ten years from now is a long time that will be filled with a lot of opportunity. Being in college is just the beginning of your career. Anything is possible!”
Follow Amanda’s tips and you will be well on your way to becoming the best possible you! Have you set any goals for the New Year or the new semester? If so, share your goals with HC BC by emailing them to kelseydamassa@hercampus.com. You never know, they might just appear in an upcoming article!
Photo Sources:
http://www.lululemon.com/about/manifesto
http://www.examiner.com/celebrity-fitness-and-health-in-national/jessica-biel-i-sometimes-work-out-five-hours-a-day