Some people do not consciously set goals but we all do it – even if we don’t realise that’s what we’re doing. “I’m going to cook three vegetarian dinners this week, minimum”; “I’m going to do the washing up before bed”; “I’m going to study for three hours tonight”; “I’m going to do three sessions of exercise this week”. These are all goals.
If the goals we have are vague, unrealistic and immeasurable, then we are setting ourselves up for failure. “I am going to get healthy” for example. Okay. How do you know what is healthy and what is not? Why do you want to “get healthy”? How are you going to measure your endeavours and when will you know you have reached this goal? A moot point really, because this goal is a recipe for failure. In psychotherapeutic circles, the best goals adhere to principles of SMART goal setting.
The S stands for specific. Rather than “I’m going to get healthy”, something like “I’m going to lose some weight”.
The M stands for measurable. You need to specify the actual, tangible outcome of your endeavour. So “I’m going to lose five kilograms”.
The A is for achievable. Shooting for 25 kilograms of weight loss is not realistically achievable and even if you were able to do it in one hit, it would most likely pile straight back on. Five kilograms is achievable, and you can always goal set for five more in due course.
The R is for relevant, which is where you can specify why you want to achieve this goal, why it is important. “I want to lose weight to stop snoring because my partner’s sleep is being disturbed. I want to lose weight to reduce my risk of developing diabetes and to make it easier for myself to walk to and from the shops.”
The T is for time-bound. Each goal should specify a timeframe. An open-ended goal can always be put off until next week. “I’m going to lose five kilograms by August.”
One path to SMART goal setting is to identify your own personal values, what is important to you, how you would like to live. So here you could identify the desire to live a healthy life as something you value, a principle you would like to live by no matter what specific goals you end up setting. Think about what makes you happy, what qualities you admire in others, qualities that make you feel happy and proud within yourself.
If you Google the word “values”, a lot will come up. Try to keep your choice of values to a core number of about five or so. “I value helping others, spending time outdoors, attending to my relationships, maintaining physical fitness, being with animals.”
Now you are ready to set some goals. Good luck.
