Creating Smart New Year's Resolutions

By Cindy Williams, RN

Coordinator, Health Ministries

Lose weight. Exercise. Eat better. Spend more time with my family. Save money. Spend less time on Facebook. Have you ever made a resolution like one of these? Most people who make resolutions like these have a hard time keeping them. Why? Because they aren’t SMART goals.

Let me elaborate. A SMART goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Specific is the what, why, and how. What are you going to do? Why is this important to you right now? What do you ultimately want to accomplish? How are you going to do this? What resources do you need?

Measurable. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. You also won’t know if you achieved it. It’s best if you can include several short-term or small goals within the goal to keep yourself on track. 

Achievable. When you identify goals that are truly important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them happen. You see previously overlooked opportunities and begin to develop attitudes, skills, abilities, and the financial capacity to reach your goals. You are not as likely to put that commitment into goals that are too far out of your reach. This is not a synonym for easy. It means “do-able.” A realistic goal should push your skills, knowledge, and willpower but not break them. Setting too difficult a goal sets the stage for failure while setting a goal that is too easy sends a message to yourself that you aren’t very capable. Set the bar high enough to feel satisfied with your achievement.

Relevant. A goal that is relevant will fit into your overall life goals. It will matter to you. It will go along with other things you are doing. It will also be the right time for you to work on it.

Time-bound. Set a timeframe for your goal. Having an end point gives you a clear target to work towards. Commitments without time limits are too vague to be accomplished.

Give it a try! Make your New Year’s resolutions into SMART goals.

References

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm

This article is part of a continuing series of health during these COVID times. For other articles, please see www.uccsda.org/healthministries.

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.