It’s that time of year again where people make grand promises to themselves or others about what it is they want to improve about themselves or their life situation, and there are entire industries ready to accept your hard-earned money to “help” you get there. But let’s just start with an unpleasant truth: very few people actually follow through on their New Year’s Resolutions. It’s really not that hard to see why.
The date is artificial
Many people make resolutions this time of year because the culture says we are “supposed to.” I’m all for making commitments for positive self-change in whatever areas you might find you need it. But the artificiality of the date means that you might not be ready to actually make the commitment. If you’re not ready, it won’t happen.
What should you do instead? It’s really important to be ready to commit to the actions necessary – change is often hard as we try to break through habits, emotional barriers, and environmental roadblocks around it. Search your soul and when you are ready, make the commitment.
Our goals are too general
“I’m going to lose weight this year!”
“I’m going to get back in shape!”
“I’m going to make more money this year!”
Are these good goals? While I can’t argue with the sentiments, these goals are just not going to get accomplished. They really do not mean anything. Instead, if you’re going to set a goal then it needs to follow the “SMART rubric.” If you work in a corporate setting, I know what you’re thinking. “I hate those goals because that’s what my manager makes me do!” Do you know why they do that? Because people who set SMART goals are far more likely to actually accomplish them, or at least get close.
In my days of mentoring students trying to complete their dissertations, we asked them to complete SMART goals for the term for two reasons. First, they were more likely to do them and had a clear direction. Second, we could look at their progress together and agree whether or not they were on track and could problem solve if they were not.
In other words, using SMART goals takes away our ability to bulls*** ourselves.
What is a SMART goal?
SMART is an acronym, with each letter corresponding to a feature of the goal.
Goals should be SPECIFIC, which means that they are narrow and clearly defined. Let’s use losing weight since this is probably amongst the most common resolutions. Instead of saying “I will lose weight,” You might say that you will lose 25 pounds. This is not yet where we want to be, but we one could no argue that this is not specific. I know exactly how much weight I’m going to try to lose.
Goals should be MEASURABLE, or there is an objective measure or piece of evidence that you can use to help know whether or not you are making progress. Clearly, 25 pounds is very measurable with a scale and we can know right off whether or not you are making progress. You could even improve this goal by stating that you will lose two inches off of your waist. This is actually a great improvement for a few reasons. First, it makes the goal even more specific, and it also gives you a victory point that does not involve the scale. Our goal is already better than it was before, but we have three more letters!
A good goal is ATTAINABLE, which means that you can reasonably met the goal in a specified time frame (we will get that that part below). “I’m going to lose 100 pounds in the next three months” is not only very difficult to obtain, but even if you were having bariatric surgery you’d be very unlikely to get there. And that speed of weight loss is not healthy. But let’s take our goal we are developing. “I will lose 25 pounds and two inches from my waistline by June 30 [six calendar months].” This would mean that you would be aiming to lose an average of one pound a week every week for the next six months, which for many people is far more realistic and healthy.
A SMART goal is also RELEVANT. This means that the goal is in concert with the things you value and your longer-term goals. Do you really need to lose 100 pounds? Our SMART goal above is definitely on track to get you there, and this method helps break down the mountain to be climbed into smaller, more manageable phases. In addition, we often take on goals that really are not ours, but those we feel pressured to take on to make someone happy. Deciding that you want to lose weight because you want to avoid or control obesity-related health conditions is a great motivation, but “to make my partner happy” is not. Make the goal yours.
The final feature of a good goal is that it is TIME-LIMITED. As you can see from our goal above, we have already specified a time limitation. It adds some urgency to the goal to help keep us on track, so our time limitation needs to be in the not-to-distant future..
So, let’s articulate this goal in full. Starting January 1, by June 30 I will lose 25 pounds and 2 inches from my waistline by reducing my intake of simple carbohydrates to XX grams a day, eating foods that are sugary or fried very sparingly (once per month or less), reduce alcohol consumption to no more than one drink a week, and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio five days a week. How is that for SMART? I know what I want, by when I want it, and how I’m going to get there.
I Know You Have Questions
What if I meet my goal early? Fantastic! It’s time to set a new one using the same features and process.
What if I don’t meet my goal? One important reason to do this is that you are able to carefully monitor your progress, and so if you are a month into the goal and have not lost any weight or inches, it is time to step back and reflect on what changes you might need to make. There is no shame in asking for help, really But even if you did the best you could and you’re closer…. well, you’re closer to the long-term goal. Set a new SMART goal and keep moving forward.
To what else can this be applied? Do you have something you want to achieve? Let’s try it out. “I want to make more money!” Great. Let’s pretend you own a business. But “I will increase revenue by 15% over the next two quarters by attracting more business. I will do this by making 5 social media posts on any platform my customers are likely to use, having two blog posts written per month (which will also be shared on those platforms), and developing at least four additional personal referral relationships.” Seems much SMARTer, does it not? Of course, there are other possible avenues to the overarching goal of making more money, and each of them is valid… and you can use multiple paths to achieve your ends.
Now Off to Make a SMART Resolution
Happiest of New Years to each of you, and may you find success in creating goals for yourself where you are both committed and SMART. Here is to a better 2022!