Here's to another year and another resolution

How many of us begin the year with a resolution that sticks for a short period of time? What is it about resolutions that make us reprioritize, but then go back to the original way of doing things? Is it something about the word resolution? Is the resolution to ambiguous or overzealous? These are questions that can continuously make us process and either feel overwhelmed or inspired. What have made your resolutions stick?

Most of us create goals that are broad and have no end date. For example, I want to lose weight and get healthy this year. While that is a good starting point for a goal it is missing some vital details. Something that could shift our focus is looking at resolutions as goals rather than something that we know we will drop after a few weeks or months. Creating SMART goals helps us to create measurable and achievable goals.

What are SMART goals you ask? SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Specific: What do you want to accomplish? What steps need to be taken?

Measurable: How will you track your success?

Achievable: Is the goal doable? Do you have what you need to make your goal a reality?

Relevant: Why is the result important to you?

Time-Bound: What is the time frame for accomplishing the goal?

SMART goals help you break down bigger goals into bite sized pieces. That analogy, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." Accomplishing goals is more about planning and creating the steps to get there rather than the end result. "Keeping our eyes on the prize," is a good way to remember what we want to accomplish; but also making sure that we are looking at the steps we need to take for the end result is crucial.

Creating SMART goals is not only about remembering your "Why", but also planning, creating, and sticking to the road map for accomplishing your goal. We all have hopes and dreams for our futures, and SMART goals are a way to help keep us focused and celebrating each step of the goal that we complete. Enjoy this new year with new SMART goals.