SMART-er Goal Setting to Set Yourself Up for Success
As the new year comes upon us, “New Year Resolutions” start hanging over our heads, making some of us feel more overwhelmed than excited.
Instead of beating yourself up over the last list of resolutions that ended up shoved in a drawer, stained in coffee, or hidden under piles of papers on your desk, let’s start your year off by setting yourself up for success!
SMART Goals
Many of us use the SMART goal method to guide goal setting. For those of you who haven’t heard of the phrase ‘SMART Goals’, SMART is an acronym which stands for:
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound
Although creating a SMART goal is helpful, there is a way to make SMART goal setting even smarter. The most important part of goal setting is that you start from your current foundation. You cannot start painting the interior walls of a house that only has the exterior frame up.
For example, let’s say you want to set a goal to be more active.
Start by assessing your previous activity from the past week or past month. Mark that as your starting foundation point and move forward from there.
Recognize when you set your goal from a foundation other than your own, you are setting yourself up for failure and disappointment. (Read that again.) You would not expect a baby to go from crawling to running, so why expect the same from yourself?
You would not expect a baby to go from crawling to running, so why expect the same from yourself?
Reassess
Once you have created your goal, take a few minutes each week to reassess and make adjustments where necessary.
Weekly assessments of your goals is a healthy practice where you can self-reflect and redirect yourself to ensure you’re on the path to success.
Remember, healthy habit changes are embodied over time, not overnight.
Should vs. Want
Lastly, don’t set goals that feel like a punishment or that you’re doing because someone said you should.
If you don’t believe in them, there is no sense in setting yourself up for discontent and frustration.
These are your goals, so with every new goal remember to write down your why.
Your WHY matters. Don’t let your goals tie you down, let them help you fly!