Derval O'Rourke: With eight weeks to the year's end, make your goals realistic

Plus - a recipe for salt-and-pepper chicken and rice

Chicken and rice - with a little salt and pepper

Did you know there are still 8 weeks left in this year? 8 weeks is a long time! 

I find that as we get closer to the end of the year, we tend to talk ourselves out of achieving any goals we have set. The classic “Ah, I’ll start that in January”, starts to play on repeat in our head about everything. If there are goals that you started but didn’t finish, or you have some new ones that you’re putting off, this is your sign to make a start on those! 

I’ll give you some great tips to get you well on your way to achieving what you set out to do and of course, I have an amazing dish for you to enjoy.

There’s a myth about setting goals that need to be debunked. That myth is that the goal is set in stone, and immovable.

If you set a goal, you need to adjust it as you go along. For example, if you set a goal to buy a new car. You pick a car you want, the timeframe it will take, how much you need to save. All of a sudden, your washing machine breaks down. Instead of giving up on your goal, you just need to recalibrate it. Extend the time to save, look at cars that will tick all the boxes for you but is a cheaper option. The goal itself is about making something happen, but often we get too caught up in the details. If the goal we set doesn’t turn out exactly how we imagined it, we consider that a failure.

If you set a goal to lose 3 stone in 6 months and you lost 2 ½ stone in 6 months, would you consider that you failed? When you were halfway through, did you stop and ask yourself how it was going, was the goal realistic and did you need more time?

Setting goals doesn't have to wait til January

Here are 5 tips for setting goals before the year is through:

• 1. Write it down: Writing down a goal makes it real. So now you know what you want to achieve. Create some visuals, if it’s a DIY project, stick some pictures of what you want on your wall and visualise how it will look. If it’s to be healthier, put some pictures around your goal of what that looks like to you. Post-it's are also really helpful.
• 2. Steps: If you want you could literally draw five steps and on each step write down the actions you need to take to make your goals happen. “Save € 100 a month for deposit”, “Update my Curriculum Vitae”,” get paint samples” etc.
• 3. Daily: Do something every day to work towards your goals, no matter how small that step is, do something every day that pushes you slightly closer to it. You might need to print out your C.V. so buying paper for your printer is a step towards that!
• 4. Review: Consider your goals and ask yourself “Is this still what I want, is there something I can do to achieve this in a shorter time frame?” “Do I need to be more realistic in how long it will take?”
• 5. Recalibrate: If you need to recalibrate, do it. Is the DIY project you want way out of your means? Have your circumstances changed that would mean the car you wanted is too expensive. Have you set an unrealistic goal of weight loss? It’s okay to move the target and make it more achievable.

The worst thing you can do is nothing, "I'll never get there so I’ll just give up.” Working for myself, I have had to review and change the goal so many times. When I started Derval.ie I had a completely different vision of where I would be in 5 years. Where I am is nothing close to my initial goals that I set for the business, it’s better and different to how it began but without constantly moving towards the original goal nothing at all would have happened.

Wellness Tip: Write down a goal you want to achieve and the 5 steps it will take to get there. Have it somewhere that you will see it every day. Each day, take one step towards making this goal a reality.

Exercise Tip: Leg lifts - Lying on your side, with your hand holding your head up, other hand on your waist, lift your leg up in a slow motion into the air. Hold for a count of three, the lower back down. (Remember to breathe). Repeat this 10 times for three reps, then switch to the other side and repeat.

Chicken and Rice

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

Salt-and-pepper seasoning is all the rage at the moment - and here's an easy way to serve it up in a family-fave dish!

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 30 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 60 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Salt and pepper

• 2 skinless chicken breast fillets

• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tbsp chutney (plum, mango or whatever’s in the cupboard)

• a small handful of grated Cheddar

• 125g brown rice

• 300g mixed frozen vegetables

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

2. Season the chicken fillets and place them in an ovenproof dish.

3. Mix the Dijon mustard and chutney in a small bowl and coat the chicken fillets with this mixture.

4. Sprinkle over the Cheddar. Bake the chicken for about 20 minutes, until cooked through.

5. Meanwhile, prepare the rice according to the instructions on the package.

6. About 5 minutes before serving, boil the vegetables in salted water, until tender.