New Year’s Resolutions
Happy New Year!! Well, technically as I’m writing this it’s still NYE, but it’ll be the new year when you’re reading it! If you’re like me, you get excited to set goals for the new year. Now, I know there are people who don’t “believe” in new year resolutions and that’s okay. To be honest, I get it. You don’t actually need a specific date or time to set a goal. You can set goals, start new habits, or switch the path you’re on at any minute of any day. You are always allowed to change your mind. That being said, I still enjoy setting goals. So if you’re like me and are planning on setting some new year resolutions, keep reading!
According to the quick google search I did (see how I just admitted I googled it instead of trying to saying “I researched”….any who) only about 25% actually stick to this new year’s resolution and only 10% accomplish their goal! I’m sure every single one of us has been part of that 75% that didn’t stick to our goal. That’s okay! Let’s talk about what we can do slightly different this year to become part of the 25%.
This is going to sound silly and old school but stay with me. When you’re setting a goal, it really does need to be a SMART goal! - mind blowing, I know! SMART goals have been around forever and there’s a reason.. it works! If you’ve ever worked with a coach, whether it be a sport coach, nutrition, life, etc I would bet that at some point that helped guide you towards setting SMART goals even if you didn’t realize it. Our biggest problems often come when we try to complicate things and not just stick to the basics and keep it simple.
Let’s break down what a SMART goal is:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Realistic
T – Time Bound.
The more detailed we can make the goal the more likely it is to happen. I’m going to use this article as an example of setting a SMART goal. One of my goals this year is to write more articles. I want to put out information largely regarding nutrition and exercise, but also mental health and lifestyle. Here’s my plan:
Post 1 article on the first Monday of each month.
This goal tells me what exactly I’m trying achieve. I should even add in there “nutrition, exercise, mental health and lifestyle” to be even more specific about the types of articles I plan to write. Being as specific as possible helps create a higher chance of sticking to the goal. We want to really define what we want to accomplish. For example, say your goal to get stronger. Great goal! What exactly does “get stronger” mean to you? Does this mean being about to lift more weight? In what movement? Does stronger mean being able to do more pull-ups or push-ups? How are we defining the goal?. A clearly defined goal helps create the blueprint for achieving it.
While it will take the whole year to truly measure my goal, it is still measurable. I will also be able to measure this by the work I’m doing throughout the month to write the article. I have time set aside twice a week to research and plan and then also another day to write. This will help me measure as I go. Think of measuring the goal as a way to track it. Say you want to lose body fat. Doing some sort of body measurements is a way to track progress. Setting smaller benchmarks along the way to your ultimate goal is a great way to measure progress and make sure you’re on track to reach your goal.
Writing 1 article a month mainly focused on nutrition and exercise is attainable for me. I have the resources to write articles, such as a laptop to research and write. I also have a place where I can publish my posts. With my degrees in exercise science and nutrition I also have a solid knowledge base that lends itself to be writing these types of articles. Making a goal attainable means it is something you have the resources to accomplish it. We could also say A is for accountable and this post would be an example of me holding myself accountable, by announcing to all of you, my plan! Having someone to help hold you accountable can also go a long way.
This is very realistic. 1 article a month gives me 4 weeks to write an article. That is very doable. Now if I were to say I’m going to write 1 article a week, that is not as attainable. Maybe for a few weeks I could keep up with that, but as we all know life sometimes comes at us fast and doing an article every single week may be too much for me. Reminder, I am starting from writing 0 posts a week/month. If I was already writing one a month then maybe I could bump it up to 2 or 3 for example. Setting an attainable goal forces us to look at our starting point. Say your goal is to eat 1,000g of fruit and vegetables a day. Awesome goal! If you’re currently eating let’s, say 100g a day, going up to 1,000g may be a bit aggressive. A more attainable goal would be 3-400g. Then once you’re doing that consistently you can bump it to 600g and then up to 1,000g.
Setting the goal as 1 article per month, on the first Monday (except this one because I was excited to get started!), makes my goal time-bound or timely. If I were to say “I want to write 12 articles this year” that is the same amount as 1 per month, however, without the specific timing of the articles I could potentially put it off until November and bang out 12 in a few weeks or on the opposite write all 12 the first month and be done. Maybe this sounds fine for some of you, but if I’m rushed to write a ton of papers in a short time frame, I can bet the quality of them is not going to be my best work. Having a timeline around your goals help to keep you focused and on track to achieve them.
And there you have it! SMART goals! Try to use this framework for setting your new year resolutions or any other goal you want to set throughout the year.
Hope you found this helpful! Check back next month for the next article 😊