Without Goals, You Can’t Score
From day one, the New Year can often be found littered with cliché resolutions. The kind of self-promises that are typically uttered boldly but a look behind the scene reveals there are no particular plans devised for achieving them.
Still, honoring tradition, one could argue that this is the perfect time of year to renew your commitment to self and personal improvement. After all, there's always room for improvement. Right?
Well, here's something that might help you stick to your promises. It's a book authored by Richard Wiseman titled 59 Seconds: Change Your Life in Under a Minute. In it, Wiseman shares some excellent insight into goal-setting. Specifically, he remarks about the importance of setting SMART goals. Here, the acronym "SMART" stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based.
Whether you're good to go, or still tossing around "resolution" ideas, Wiseman's book is an excellent guide to reaching whatever goals you have set for yourself over the new year.
As for health and fitness, I've noticed that people are often very ambiguous when it comes to their intended goals. For instance, people frequently say they "want to lose weight," or "have more energy," or "sleep better." However, setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Based goals requires us to be more precise. And, by default, less wishy-washy about what we want and how to get it.
A prime example of this would be committing to "losing 15 pounds in 12 weeks." Now, that's a very "SMART" approach.
Whenever you think about what you want to accomplish, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Dig in and be as explicit as possible about what you want, when you want it, and how you're going to measure your progress.
Lastly, don't let a little bit of work keep you from thinking BIG. By all means, I want you to set HUGE, audacious goals for yourself! Just remember that those goals need to be time-based. Depending on the particulars, you may need to take that giant SMART goal of yours and break it apart into smaller, more manageable, bite-sized chunks.
What goals have you set for yourself this new year? I want to know. Feel free to leave a comment below or, if you want, message me directly. I'd love to hear from you! And, if you have any questions or if there's anything I can do to help, ask away. That's what I'm here for!
Here's to setting SMART goals and scoring BIG time!
