Set Goals and Stick To Them
“I want to lose weight.” “I want to be stronger.”
These are examples of common goals people set when exercising. Goal setting is a great tool to keep you motivated, especially when it comes to physical activity. However, while these are worthwhile goals, they likely won’t get you to where you want to go. Why? They are too vague, too broad, and not specific enough. A helpful tool when setting goals is to use the acronym S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timebound).
How SMART goals work:
Let’s work through the example “I want to lose weight” as so many people will desire this at some point in their lives. This is a very general statement, let’s look at how we can make it a SMART goal.
Specific - So your goal is to lose weight, but of course this is not very specific. What kind of weight do you want to lose? How much? Most likely you want to lose body fat and for the sake of this example, let’s say you want to lose 20lbs. The goal now becomes, “I want to lose 20lbs of body fat”. This is much more specific and really highlights what exactly you are working towards.
Measurable – The next step is to make your goal measurable; you need to ask yourself questions like how many/how much? How am I going to measure my progress? Again, say your goal is to lose 20lbs and you will track your weight loss progress with a scale.
Achievable – A SMART goal must be something that is within your reach. The goal must be both challenging but doable in order to help you adhere to it. If it is too easy and you may lose interest. If it is too hard and you probably won’t make it. Ask yourself, “do I have the resources to help me achieve my goal? If not, what can I do to acquire those resources?” In our example this might mean getting a gym membership, or home work out equipment, or perhaps joining a sports team. Another thing to consider is, have others done this before? Knowing that someone else has achieved the same goal can make you feel more confident about doing the same.
Realistic – This is often one of the tougher questions, is my goal realistic? Expecting to lose 20lbs in two weeks, is unrealistic and probably unhealthy. Give yourself a reasonable timeline to accomplish your goal, for this example three months is much more realistic.
Time-bound – This is the easiest step of them all, does your goal have an end date? All SMART goals need one in order to fit the mold. A deadline helps you keep things in perspective, especially when things aren’t going the way you would like them to. It is helpful to be able to step back and say “it’s ok, I still have 10 weeks to accomplish my goal.” It also helps you adhere to the goal since you have the knowledge that you will not have to commit to the process forever and that there is in fact an end to it.
So, to bring that all together, using SMART goalsetting, we can take a goal of “I want to lose weight” and turn it into, “I want to lose 20lbs of body fat in the next three months”. Instantly you have a specific goal, that is measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
How to Stick With it
Now you have a SMART goal, that’s great, but that’s only a small part of the equation. Adhering to these goals takes some effort as the motivation will not always be there every day. I find there are a couple ways that help people stick to their chosen goal.
One, find someone with a similar goal and work on it together. If you are accountable to another person you are much more likely not to skip out on the work you need to do to reach your goal.
A great way to do this is to hire a personal trainer! If you need someone to help you create attainable goals and someone to hold you accountable, he is the guy! Contact us for more info about personal training.
Two, make it part of your daily/weekly routine. Make it just another thing you do, like going to work, or having lunch. Set aside a specific time to get it done.
The most important thing to take away from this article is that you are capable of achieving any goal that you set your mind to, as long as you are SMART about your goal and are able to find a way to adhere to it.