It’s a New Year for Innovative Thinking
Do you see yourself choosing personal goals like these at the beginning of a new year? I need to lose weight, go to the gym, eat healthier, spend more time with family, plan that dream vacation, or find a new job. We make goals or resolutions with good intentions and the expectation to accomplish them.
According to survey results published by Forbes Health on New Year’s resolutions for 2024, 48% of respondents set goals to improve fitness, 38% to improve finances, 36% to improve mental health, 34% to lose weight, and 32% to improve diet. These results also include stats on how long the resolutions lasted. The results showed that 57% of the respondents maintained adherence to their goals for 2-4 months. What do you think prevented the respondents from obtaining the outcomes they desired?
We need a strategy that helps with goal completion and desired outcomes. SMART goals are one such method. SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. A SMART goal needs to be specific by clearly stating the outcome expected. An example++ might look like this: I will lose 15 pounds in 3 months. That goal is measurable and time-bound. What about specific, attainable, and relevant? Questions to ask yourself are if you can lose 5 pounds in a month. Is that attainable? What do health experts say is the safest amount of weight to lose per week? The CDC recommends that losing 4 to 8 pounds per month is a healthy goal. Your weight loss goal needs to be attainable for long-term success.
What does relevance have to do with goal achievement? The goal needs to be realistic or results-based to increase your ability to achieve the perceived outcome. Fad diets and over-the-counter remedies promise quick weight loss but without long-term results. A question to ask yourself is if you can adhere to the specific dietary requirements for the long haul.
What about the specifics of the goal? How will you lose the weight? Diet and exercise, specific calorie counting, etc. How will obtaining this goal help you in the long term? It may be you want to decrease your BMI or increase your agility to be able to walk 5 miles a week.
Take the time needed to give thought to answering these questions when setting a goal, as this will help keep you accountable to specific outcomes and allow you to celebrate the small wins along the journey. Celebrating your weekly wins will give you momentum to continue toward the desired outcome. Sharing your goals with friends or family can help keep you moving in the right direction and add another layer of accountability.
As we enter the new year of 2024, let’s consider using innovative thinking through the use of SMART goals to bolster our commitments to self-development and personal growth.
