SMART Goals
It’s that time of year again... you know that time; New Year’s resolutions. Some may find this time to be stressful and while yes, that is true, I find this a great time to learn about setting goals to protect our mental wellness. The new year can be full of feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression but by practicing wellness and healthy goals, we can enter the near year stronger than before
Why do we set goals?
For plenty of reasons but to name a few: try new things, become healthier, or spend more time with our families. When these goals are met, I think it's fair to say we get a little boost in our confidence.
S: Specific.
When creating a New Years resolution, the first is creating a specific goal that answers our “W” questions: Who, What, Where, Why. Some questions to consider are:
Who is involved in this goal?
What is the importance of this goal?
Where will it be accomplished?
Why this goal now?
Being specific helps develop a clear understanding of our goal and the steps needed to take to achieve this.
M: Measurable.
How will we know we are actually reaching our goal if we can not measure it? There must be some aspect to this that we can measure our progress. Some questions to consider are:
How will I know this goal is accomplished?
How much of something is needed?
A: Achievable.
If we are creating a goal this isn’t achievable, what is the point? Let’s set achievable goals so that we can actually reach them and boost our confidence! Some questions to consider are:
Do I have the resources needed to meet this goal?
Are there restraints setting me back from reaching this goal?
R: Relevant.
The goal you are setting must be relevant and simply make sense. Some questions to consider are:
Does this matter to me?
Is this an appropriate time to be setting this goal?
T: Time-bound.
Every goal must have some start and end. In order to do so, a date must be added; days, weeks, months, or a specific date. Some questions to consider are:
Does my goal have a deadline?
What can I accomplish today/next week/ next month?
When do I want to achieve this?
How Does This Work For Me?
If I want to use one of my five new cookbooks to try new recipes and enhance my cooking skills. I will do this one time per week from the start of 2025 until the end of 2025. I will mark which recipes I have tried to help keep track.
Taking This a Step Further
Some experts even take this a step further and make it a SMARTER goal (E=Evaluated, R= Review). I wish you the best of luck on your journey to creating a SMART New Year’s resolution!
References:
Smart goals. Corporate Finance Institute. (2021, July 23). Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/smart-goal/. Smart goals: – how to make your goals achievable. Time Management Training From
MindTools.com. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/smart-goals.htm.
