Setting Goals
Setting, maintaining, and completing goals is something everyone struggles with at one point or another. Who hasn’t been on the couch feeling defeated about a new workout regimen that was supposed to be started this week? Or have a stack of books that you’ve been meaning to read? Some people seem to be better at goals than others. Whether it be something they learned, genetics, intelligence, motivation, or anything else in a nearly infinite number of possibilities, there’s always ways to make it easier for those of us that don’t seem to be blessed with easily overcoming goals. Given the new year is almost here, it’s an apt time to discuss goals. People set them at all times with numerous things, but New Years Resolutions are what’s being talked about right now. So here’s some tips for goals or resolutions.
1. SMART Goals
The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.
Specific – This is the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the goal. Let’s use the common example of “I want to lose weight”. That’s a great goal, but it doesn’t tell us the who, what, when, where, why, and how we’re going to do it. Answering those questions will make it easier when the time comes to actually follow through. For example, “I want to lose weight by going to the gym at least 3 times per week with my friend Jeff, before work.” This answers several of those questions.
Measurable – We need a way to see if we’re making progress with a goal. If the goal is losing weight, good ways to measure can be weight, body mass, pant size, how good your feel, and so on. Each person gets to pick how they want to check if they’re making progress. So, “I want to lose 30 pounds and I’m going to check my progress weekly”.
Achievable – What do you need to obtain, buy, or learn to do this goal? If I’m going to go to the gym, do I need to buy gym clothes, running shoes, a gym membership?
Realistic – A simple yes or no answer to “Is my goal realistic?” At this point, the goal is “I want to lose weight by going to the gym at least 3 times per week with my friend Jeff, before work. I want to lose 30 pounds and I’m going to check my progress weekly.” For a lot of people that’s probably realistic. However, if you have kids to get ready before you go to work or carpool, you may want to rethink the plan a little.
Timely – By when do I want this goal completed by? 6 days, 6 months, 6 years? After answering this, you can ask again, “Is that realistic?”
After all of that, you have your final goal: “I want to lose weight by going to the gym at least 3 times per week with my friend Jeff, before work. I want to lose 30 pounds and I’m going to check my progress weekly. I’m going to lose 30 pounds in 8 months.”
2. Accountability
Have a system to hold yourself accountable. Probably the most common way to do this is by having a friend, family member, or co-worker help you. In the above scenario, Jeff can help keep me accountable. Call me to make sure I’m coming to the gym that morning, carpool with him, or have to hear it from him if I skip a day.
3. Reward
Have a reward system. When you meet mini-goals (e.g. losing 5 pounds out of 30) or the final goal, give yourself some of reward. This is different for everyone, but it could be going to a movie, getting new clothes, eating your favorite dessert (maybe not the best plan for losing weight…), and so on.
4. Grace for yourself
Don’t beat yourself up for not making progress. Sometimes things get in the way, try to readjust. Determine what went wrong and assess if you need to make some changes.
5. Set appropriate difficulty goals
Set moderately difficult goals. Research shows us that the best goals to set are moderately difficult. If your goals are too easy, you have no satisfaction from completing them. I could set a goal of “Typing this sentence”. Great, I completed my goal. I got absolutely no satisfaction from completing it because it was too easy. On the other hand, if the goals are too hard, you’ll always be getting defeated. This is a classic problem with perfectionists. If my goal is to run a marathon tomorrow and I haven’t ran more than 2 miles in 6 years, that’s just not going to happen and I’m going to feel like I failed another goal.
So go forth, set some New Years Resolutions, and prosper.