S - specific
M - measurable
A - attainable
R - relevant
T - time-limited
Specific goals help us get down to what we really want. Sometimes it makes us prioritize what we want to focus on first, if the goal is large. Sometimes it helps us understand what the underlining purpose of our goal is, and perhaps a more direct way to address it. It also helps us already begin to think about ways to reach the goal, based on what it is we are focused on (e.g., losing weight vs. eating more nutritiously).
Example: "I'm going to be healthier this year." -------- Instead, try "I want to lose ____ pounds" or "I want to eat a full serving of fruits and vegetables daily."
Measurable goals help hold us accountable. It helps us identify where we are at, and where we want to be, and how quickly (or slowly) we are getting there. It also can be the scariest part, because committing to a specific measurement (e.g., # of pounds lost or a specific fitness goal) can be a lot scarier than something more general, like "being healthier". Measurement is the part of goal-setting I've always had the most fear of, since it is the clear line in the sand, the point at which I can fail. But I understand it is important, so I can know when I've met my goal and if I'm moving in the right direction.
Example: "I'm going to lose weight" -------- Instead, try "I'm going to lose 5 pounds." Another example: "I want to eat less sugar"-------- Instead, try "I will cut sugary foods (desserts, white bread, etc) out of my diet 5 out of 7 days of the week."
Attainable. This one can be tough. This means our goals need to be reasonable and something we can accomplish within the time-frame we have (see T, below). It also means we need to have a "come to Jesus" with ourselves sometimes and work on another A - "acceptance." I'm not at a point in my life where a reasonable goal is to have visible abs (lolz). I'm truly okay with this, but it means I also have to think about attainable goals based on my history. I know I'm not someone who can just say "I'm not eating sugar ever again" or "I will now have a salad every day for lunch." Attainable goals take into account our time and our history with the goal at hand. It can be helpful when making these goals to focus on what our bodies can do or can attain vs what they cannot.
Example: "I'm going to eat no more than 900 calories a day!" ------ Instead, try "I'm going to eat 1500 calories each day to fuel my body." Or "I'm going to lose 15 pounds before the wedding next month" ----- Instead, try "I know my body, and I'm going to work hard to lose 1 pound per week."
Relevant. This one might seem tacked on, just to make the SMART deal work (after all, a SMAT goal doesn't sound great). However, I think it's worth being intentional about assessing if our goals are really relevant to what we are wanting to change/improve/attain. Sometimes, we can set goals that seem doable or that we have seen others be successful at without assessing if these will work for us. I think this is particularly true for weight-loss and health goals. For example, I wish I could cut out sugar completely and go vegetarian for a while... I know it would meet my goal to lose weight. But losing weight isn't all that I'm wanting, truly. My meta-goal is to be healthy in a way I can sustain throughout my life. And never sugar and total vegetarian won't work for me. Another example of things that get in the way of relevant goals are the SHOULDS. The "shoulds" can get us in lots of areas of life, but what I mean here is making a goal because you feel as though you should, even though you don't really value that goal and/or it might not help you get where you want to be. One of these for me is being "ultra efficient" in my workouts. I understand that for a lot of people HIIT workouts or Cross-fit like workouts get the most "fitness" in with minimal time allotted. I used to feel a lot of SHOULDS about working out the "right" way. But what I found is that this wasn't sustainable for me, because it wasn't relevant to my goals - I don't care if my workouts are efficient, but I do want to stay active.
Example (these are context dependent, obviously, and depend on your ultimate goal, as stated above): "I'm going to join Crossfit to get healthy/RIPPED" ------ "I'm going to alternate between running, swimming, and yoga, because I know these are activities I can sustain for a longer period of time."
Time-limited goals are goals that have a deadline. I think this one is more straight-forward, however there are two main aspects: goals need a deadline, and that deadline needs to be short-term. It's important to have big goals (dare we say dreams) that will take years, or a lifetime. But that's much too long for most of our attention spans. I haven't heard a specific ideal length for goals, but I think the shorter the better. For me, having a daily, weekly, and monthly aspects of my goals seem to work out best. This is why I have both short and long term goals in my previous post.
Example: "I want to lose 40 pounds this year" ----- "I want to lose 4 pounds this month (1 pound/week)." OR "I want to eat more fruits and vegetables in life." ---- "I will eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day for 5/7 days per week."
So, my current goals, in S.M.A.R.T. language:
1. I will lose 5 pounds by the end of January. I will focus on this by eating 5 fruits/vegetables per day for at least 5/7 days of the week.
Update - I've lost 3 pounds so far (whut!), and ate 5 fruits/veggies 5 days this week!
2. I will increase my physical fitness by working out 4 times per week by the end of January.
Update - I worked out (running, yoga, and the rowing machine) 4 days this week.
What kind of goals do you have for 2017 or beyond? What kind of goals do you have for this day, week, month?
We'll talk more about what we do when we meet our goals (rewards!) soon. Thanks for reading!
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