Goal Setting

New year, new you? If your goal is to be able to run a marathon, and you haven’t run regularly in quite some time, are you going to start off running the about 26 miles it takes to run a marathon? No, because that would be insane! Okay so how do we set ourselves up for success? There is an acronym everyone should know when creating goals: SMART

S- Specific: Make your goal specific, and clear, know exactly what you’re working towards.

M- Measurable: Make your goal measurable, how will you know when you meet it? Make sure it is quantifiable.

A- Attainable: Break the goal into smaller chunks.

R- Relevant: Make sure your goal is something you actually want to do, not something you think you should do.

T- Time-Bound: Have a deadline, and don’t make it too long. If we are going to be motivated by something, we are going to need it to be achieved sooner rather than later otherwise if we wait too long, it isn’t going to motivate you. You also want to make sure you have enough time. Give yourself more than you think you need if that help; the worst thing that can happen is you meet your goal sooner than you originally planned.

Let’s take a look back at wanting to run a marathon using smart goals:

S- “I want to run a marathon.”

M- Right now, I can only run about 3 miles a day, I need to work up to be able to run about 26 miles for a marathon.

A- Jumping from 3 miles to 26 is a lot, so instead I am going to aim for being able to run 5 miles.

R- I enjoy running, and have always wanted to do a marathon

T- I am going to give myself a month to be able to work up from 3 miles a day, to 5 miles a day. If I accomplish this sooner, great! I will be able to move onto my next smaller goal.

With this new year, try to ensure your goals are SMART; this will help you be more successful in meeting your goals.