New Year, New You. How to Set Goals the Right Way and Stick to Them in the New Year
The New Year is approaching quickly and with it a chance to establish a new set of behaviors that can lead to a successful and productive year. Whether you have fitness goals, business goals, or life goals there is a specific formula that helps you accomplish your goals. This formula is a SMART goal formula.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
Specific: Identify your goal with as much detail as possible. Describe it so well that it cannot be mistaken for someone else’s goal. Make it specific to you and your values as a person. When describing your goal, answer the 6 “W” questions: Who? What? When? Where? Which? and Why?
Who is involved in helping you reach your goal?
What exactly are you trying to accomplish?
When will this path to your goal begin and end?
Where will this goal take place and do you have the right environment surrounding you?
Which obstacles are in your way? Do you need to take a step back before you move forward on this goal? Are there certain prerequisites for beginning this path to your goal?
Why do you want to achieve this goal? This is by far the most important question to ask yourself because the answer will determine the level of seriousness and urgency that this goal has. How will it impact your life and why is that important to you?
Measurable: Identify the metrics that will be used to determine the progress of reaching your goal. For example, if you have a weight-loss goal, a weight scale will be used to measure your progress towards your specific weight-loss goal. In general, you should be able to attach a number to tracking your progress towards your set goal.
Achievable: Identify how attainable or realistic your goal is. Often, there are many subset goals that need to be accomplished before your main goal can be reached.
Relevant: Identify the relevance of your goal to your life as a whole. Does it align with your values and your vision for your life?
Time-bound: Identify the duration of the process to reaching the goal. The most achievable goals have a clearly defined start time and end time. Fraction the overall time period into smaller pieces. Where should you be at the quarter mark to reaching your goal? Where should you be at the halfway point? This will create more subset goals and clear stepping stones to reaching your main goal.
The New Year can only be as successful as you are with your goal planning. Make your goal planning SMART with this formula and reach heights that have not been reached before in your life. We wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year!
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