26 Dec SMART Goals for the New Year
Every year after the holidays, the “new year, fresh start!” mindset sweeps over us. We have great intentions of joining a gym, eating better, sleeping more or keeping the house picked up. However, for many of us, it’s easy to slip back into bad habits come February. As we approach the end of the year, I want to challenge you to finish the year strong! You don’t have to wait until the new year to start a new habit—start today with small, achievable goals. The best way to get started is to set “SMART” goals. Follow the guide below to start creating your SMART goal today.
What are SMART Goals?
SMART is an acronym used for goal setting, time management and more. Each letter stands for a characteristic needed to create realistic goals that can be followed. These goals work particularly well for New Year’s resolutions, since we tend to lose interest in resolutions if we don’t have solid goals. SMART = specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely.
S is for Specific:
Get specific—the more detailed you can be, the more likely you are to achieve your goal. For example, what is the difference between “I want to lose weight,” and “I want to exercise 15 minutes a day to lose 4-8 pounds each month until I reach a weight loss goal of 50 pounds”?
One of the most important to ask yourself is the “why.” Why are you setting this goal in the first place? These questions will also help you create specific goals:
- What exactly do I want to achieve?
- Where?
- How?
- When? How often?
- With whom?
- What are the limitations?
M is for Measurable:
This is where you will define what you will actually see, feel and hear when you reach your goal. This step answers the question: “How do I know I’ve done it?” Make sure to have goals that you can measure in a concrete way: Will you lose a certain amount of weight? Will you be able to kick your smoking habit? Will you reduce your medications? What is the result of all your hard work?
A is for Attainable:
Do you have the time, money, motivation and resources to reach a certain goal? This is where you can break a bigger goal (losing 100 pounds in one year) into smaller more attainable goals (losing 10 pounds each month).
R is for Relevant:
Is this goal important to you? Does it apply to your health, lifestyle, resources and budget? Are you capable of achieving this? If you lack certain resource to achieve your goal, how can you attain them? Asking your friends and family for accountability throughout your journey will help you be able to achieve your goals.
T is for Timely:
When is your deadline? When are you going to say you have reached your goal or endpoint? Plan everything you do—Deadlines are what set people to action. If you keep saying to yourself “I’ll get to it eventually,” then maybe go back to your “why” and understand the goal’s importance to you.
To sum it up: What is your SMART goal?
It’s okay to re-evaluate your goals. Goals are always adaptable if you keep moving forward, keep your mind set on the prize or end goal and remember how important it is to you! SMART goals are adaptable and easily measured. Remember, a SMART goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. So, what are your SMART goals for the New Year?
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