Making a New Year’s Resolution is a great way to make a positive change in your life. But unfortunately, according to U.S. News, approximately 80% of resolutions fail by February. How can you make a lasting change? To be successful at something you would like to achieve, it is important to make sure your resolutions are SMART.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound.
- Specific For example, let's say you want to get healthier. Is that specific? Not really. What does being healthier mean to you? Be more specific. Do you want to lower your blood pressure? Get off Diabetes medication? Lose 20 pounds? A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal.
- Measurable Now that you have made the goal more specific, it should be easier to measure. Decide to track the goal per week or per month and decide the measures you will use to track. For example, if I want to lose 20 pounds, I will weigh myself once a week with a goal of losing 2 pounds per week. Keeping track of progress gives incentives to keep going.
- Attainable If you don't have the time, money or talent to reach a certain goal you'll fail and be miserable. In some cases of health or fitness resolutions, you may need to consult with your doctor to ensure it is a safe and/or realistic resolution. I heard of someone who resolved to read 75 books in a year. She didn't think about how much time that would actually take and with a full time job, a husband and child, that goal really wasn't realistic for her. However, that doesn't mean that you can't try for something that might sound impossible and make it happen by planning smartly and going for it!
- Relevant Is the resolution something that is important to you? Why do you want to make this change? Goals are more likely to be reached if they are significant to you.
- Time Bound Goals need to have a time limit or date to be reached to help keep you motivated and to establish a sense of urgency to prevent life from getting in the way. Also, if you have a big goal, like losing weight, making small specific goals toward that big objective will be motivating and keep you going. When my resolution was to run a half marathon, the mini marathon training schedule provided built in smaller goals along the way. In the months leading to the mini, having a 5k and 10k set up on specific dates (that I registered and paid for which really helped with accountability!) kept me on track toward the bigger goal of the half marathon and gave me the satisfaction of meeting those achievements as well. Having a deadline or set date makes it more likely it will happen.
Instead of vague resolutions, SMART goal setting creates a set path towards your objective. Every goal or resolution can be made SMART and then will be closer to reality.
Need help with your health and fitness resolution? Schedule a Fitness Assessment with a LivRite trainer today!
Topics: LivRite News
