Setting new health and fitness goals is on a lot of people’s minds. But, according to an New York Post article, most people end up abandoning those goals by January 12th. That’s less than two weeks of adherence, but unfortunately that’s the reality. The question then arises, “How do I stick to my new year’s resolutions?” Well, it all starts with the actual setting of your goal. In health and exercise science, we’re taught a handy dandy acronym to aid in goal setting; set S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time oriented. All of these characteristics are necessary components of a good goal and can really help you succeed. However, S.M.A.R.T. goals are just one method that you’ll need to use if you want to keep your resolution for longer than twelve days. Other components include social support, accountability and understanding your barriers.
Let’s start by talking about the first letter in S.M.A.R.T. goals, “S.” Like I mentioned earlier, the “S” in S.M.A.R.T. goals stands for specific. When you are setting your goal, making it as specific as possible is very important, because when a goal is more general it becomes difficult to create an action plan to achieve it. For example, if you set the goal of “improved health,” there are nearly infinite steps to take to achieve this goal. You could exercise more (which is still very general), eat more fruits and veggies, quit smoking or drinking, spend more time with friends and family, or start meditating. The list goes on. Coming up with what you are actually going to do to complete a very general goal can be overwhelming and discouraging. That is why I advise setting a more specific goal such as running X number of miles a month or eating five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. This way it will be very clear what you need to do to meet that goal.
Next, we have “M,” which stands for measurable. This is like setting a specific goal in that it helps you understand what you need to do in order to complete your goal. Going back to the example of “I want to improve my health” it becomes obvious that you cannot measure improved health. You CAN measure things that represent health like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, resting heart rate, lift PRs, and dietary intake. So, make sure to set a goal with variables that can be measured in a quantitative way not just an abstract idea. This will also aid you in tracking your goal as you will know how much progress you have made at any given time. This can help motivate you and show you if you need to be doing more or less to finish out your resolution strong.
Of course, our next letter is “A,” which stands for attainable. This takes on a more personal definition than the other letters in S.M.A.R.T. goals. You should consider whether or not it will be possible for you to complete your goal. For example, if you want to be able to squat two hundred pounds, but don’t have access to a gym, problems will start to arise. Sure, you can do lots and lots of body weight squats, but after a while this won’t be enough to challenge your body. So, when setting a goal make sure that you have everything you need to complete your goal at your disposal.
Jumping further into the alphabet we come to “R,” which stands for realistic. This relates to the previous letter as your goal must be attainable before it is realistic. However, it is slightly different than its predecessor. This is because sure, it might be possible for you to run a marathon everyday in that you have running shoes and a 26.2-mile route, but (at least for me) this is definitely not something that is realistic. Yes, it is good to push yourself outside your comfort zone and explore what you are capable of, but there is a point were this goes too far. My advice would be to test out some components of your goal before you set it. If you want to increase the distance you run, try running that much in a day and see how hard it is. If you want to start meditating, try out the amount of time you would need to meet your goal and see if you have the patience for it. In testing out your goal you can adjust it before you force yourself into something outside of your capabilities.
And finally, we have “T,” which stands for time oriented. This can mean different things depending on your goal. If your goal does not involve a habit that will be done for the entire year, setting an end date for when you plan on achieving your goal is very helpful. This will help keep you on track and prevent you from procrastinating. It can also be helpful to set time-oriented checkpoints along the way that are smaller fractions of your bigger goal. If you are performing a daily activity, pick an exact time for when you are going to do it. This way you won’t get sidetracked by other plans and activities as easily.
Now that you have S.M.A.R.T. goals in your tool belt you are one step closer to maintaining your new year’s resolution, but let’s take a couple more steps in that direction. One very important factor to consider when attempting to achieve your goals is the people around you. Make sure you are surrounded by people who will support you in achieving your goal. For example, if you want to hit a new lifting PR, surround yourself with other lifters. If you want to run a marathon, train with a running group. This is in coherence with a study published in the International Journal of Aging and Human Development that found social support from family and friends helps in achieving various health behaviors.
Social support is closely tied to another factor pertaining to achieving goals, accountability. Being surrounded by a group of people who are all trying to accomplish the same or similar goals to you can be a great way to stay accountable. But not everyone has this luxury. In lieu of a similarly motivated group of peers, money can be a great way to hold you accountable. For example, if you plan on meditating for ten minutes every day, commit $5 to a charity of your choosing every time you don’t meet this goal. This can start to add up after a couple missed days and will hopefully keep you on track.
The final component to consider when setting new goals is what you anticipate the barriers will be. If you want to run five miles every day but know that you don’t like to run in bad weather, consider investing in a treadmill so you won’t even encounter that barrier. Being proactive about overcoming the challenges associated with you goal is the best way to get past them. Make a list of all the things that might interfere with your success and figure out ways to avoid those situations or make it easier to transcend them. If you doubt your ability to overcome those challenges, perhaps a more realistic goal is necessary as a prerequisite. Remember, change is not a linear process. You may find your pencil of self scribbling all over the page of life, sometimes moving forward, sometimes moving backward. But, with this knowledge of goal setting, hopefully you’ll be better equipped to end further down the page than where you started.