How To Set – And Stick To – Health Goals This Year

Discover how to make hitting health goals not only possible but easily achievable in 2025.

Define Realistic Goals

We’ve all been there – ‘new year, new me’, setting huge goals on 1st January only to give it all up weeks later. The reason we fail is usually because these aims are unachievable. Repeatedly missing the mark is demoralising and quickly destroys your motivation, pushing you back into old comfortable routines.

Combat this trend by defining goals that are realistic. You wouldn’t try to run a marathon before a 5k, and the same principle of working towards something step-by-step should be applied. Establish SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) objectives within your goals, keeping them relatively easy to obtain. Ensure every step is specific – for example, replace ‘exercise more’ with ‘do 30 minutes of brisk walking five days per week’.

Put Together A Structured Plan

Once you have your objectives, combine them into a structured plan that outlines the actions you need to take to achieve each milestone. Making it quick and simple to see what you need to do and when will support your motivation on difficult days and give you the satisfaction of ticking things off as you go.

Establish A Supportive Routine

Integrating new goals into your lifestyle will be near impossible without supportive routines, so begin by implementing changes that make it easy for you to hit your health goals. For example, getting your steps in before work relies on you transforming your sleep habits so you can rise early feeling refreshed, and eating well requires conscious food preparation.

Complement consistent daily and weekly actions with effective long-term planning to ensure a well-rounded wellness routine. Book in frequent health checks at your dentist and GP, regularly order home STI test kits straight to your door and schedule time off work well before burnout to safeguard your mental well-being.

Monitor Your Progress

Being able to see how far you’ve come is hugely motivating and will help you stay focused on your goals as they become gradually more challenging. Monitor your progress using your plan and specialist health tools such as fitness watches, step counters and calorie trackers.

Celebrate every achievement, even if it’s just attending an appointment you’d been putting off or getting outside for a few minutes of fresh air. Forming new healthy habits for life, large or small, can significantly impact your short- and long-term well-being and should be honoured accordingly.

Embrace Flexibility

Aim for consistency rather than perfection. Missing a day of exercise, having to push-back an appointment or enjoying a takeaway with friends are not enough to derail your progress, but beating yourself up and saying you’ll start again on Monday could make you give up entirely. Go slow and give yourself permission to adjust your plans as needed.