SMART Goals for Your New Year's Resolutions

Has the concept of New Year’s resolutions left you cold? Tired of making promises to yourself that you do not keep? You are not alone; most surveys show that resolutions made at the start of the New Year are lucky to survive up to 8 weeks. After that, commitment drops and inertia sets in – we are often back to where we started on January 1.

Striving for and reaching a goal means leaving your comfort zone and striking out into new territory. Reaching goals around weight loss, career change, and improved relationships seem to top many lists at the beginning of the year. If you have not had much success in the past keeping your New Year’s resolutions, you may also have the gremlins of doubt, guilt, and fear of change eroding your will power.

So, what can you do? Well, you could start by carefully choosing what goal you want to pursue and make sure it is based in your values. Do you value family, social and professional relationships, money, independence, prestige and recognition, new learning, or making a difference in others’ lives? Maybe there is something else you particularly prize and want to improve. Select goals - perhaps one or two - to focus on this year that will be driven by your most cherished values. That will give you the absolute sense of commitment you need and the incentive to keep plugging away day after day toward your goal.

Here’s another tip: Set yourself up for success by formulating SMART goals that will give you a structure to follow. Write out your goals using this kind of format. Remember, an unwritten goal is merely a wish!

S – SPECIFIC: describes WHO will do WHAT and HOW and WHEN and WHY.
For example, a specific goal could be stated as, “I will connect with 3 new strategic partners via Facebook in the next 6 months to expand my business visibility and grow business revenues.” A vague goal might be stated as, “Make more connections.”

M- MEASURABLE: describes the LEVEL and QUALITY of performance using quantifiable measures such as numbers, dollar amounts, and percentages. How much business revenues do you want to grow? By when?

A – ACHIEVABLE: sets ATTAINABLE standards. You need to stretch to reach your goals but don’t make them impossible to achieve. Review your assets of energy, commitment, resources, and desire versus your constraints on your time and other demands. Are you determined to put this value-based goal ahead of other priorities? How will you follow through on that commitment on a daily basis?

R – REGULAR: lay out the steps to reach your goal in regular, consistent chunks. Keep your momentum going by “eating the elephant one bite at a time”.

T – TIMELY: establish your long-term goal and then chunk down that goal into sub-goals with shorter timeframes. For instance, you might say for your long-term goal, “I will lose 30 pounds through careful diet and exercise in the next 12 months.” Your shorter timeframe sub-goal might be, “I will focus on losing 2.5 pounds every month for the next 12 months by maintaining a caloric intake of no more than XXXX per day and 3 to 5 hours of vigorous aerobic and strength-bearing exercise per week.”

Are you determined to attain your most important goal this year? Can you isolate it based on its grounding in your values and describe it using the SMART goals guideline? Will you resolve to get out of your comfort zone to work for what is really important? Are you ready to take a risk on yourself and make this New Year’s resolution stick? If you can honestly answer “yes” to the above questions, you have the inner drive based on real priorities and the structure to follow – now, just go do it!

Comments

[brad]

T can also be towards what you want

[Smart Goals]

Thanks for posting this. I think that if more individuals utilized these guidelines when making their New Years resolutions, there would be a much higher success rate. And who knows... maybe gyms and fitness centers wouldn't see such a big drop-off in their attendance rates come February!