new-years-resolutionsDo you know what I think of when someone mentions New Year’s resolutions to me?   I think of Goals.  People that make New Year’s resolutions, have Goals.  If you don’t have a resolution for 2010, then in my opinion you are without Goals.  In other words, you have given up and you have resigned yourself to one of two ideas:

1.  You are perfect and there is no further life planning that you wish to do.

2.  You’ve given up and therefore there is no point in setting Goals.

To me, the word Resolution is a euphemism for the word Goal.  There must be something about yourself you want to improve or something you want to achieve.  Typically an evolved person wants to enrich themselves and thereby enrich those around them.

The problem is that we always seem to fall short of our Goals.  Maybe it’s because we don’t invest enough of ourselves in our Goals.  Maybe we set ourselves up to fail because we are not smart about the planning tools we choose to execute our New Year’s resolution.  Here’s why I think we fail:

  • We don’t take the time to concisely state our Goal.
  • We can’t measure our progress.
  • We make our Goals too big and/or broad.
  • We don’t have the tools we need to be successful.
  • We don’t make ourselves accountable for our progress.

When thinking about the topic for this blog piece I returned to my business training.  A fundamental part of strategic planning is setting Goals for the company in the following year.  Why not use this same method in our personal lives?

One of the most popular goal setting tools is the SMART method.  SMART stands for:

Specific

Measureable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-based

Why is this method more likely to work over simple will power?  Let’s take a look at each element and apply it to an almost universal New Year’s resolution – “I want to lose 25 pounds by summer”.

1.  S is for Specific: This first step is key to your success.  Your Goal should Specifically describe the result that you want to achieve.  The more specific, the more likely you will achieve your Goal.  It is also advisable to state smaller objectives to achieve the larger Goal.  We have the larger umbrella Goal of losing 25 pounds by summer – but that is too big.  Break it down into smaller, achievable segments for greater success.  So for instance, instead of saying “I want to lose 25 pounds by summer,” you can list your objective as “I am going to lose 10 pounds by April 1st”.

2.  M is for Measurable: We’ve broken down our Goal into a specific-bite-size objective.  Now let’s address our second factor which is Measureability.  We must be able to gauge our progress or it will be impossible for us to know whether or not we are meeting our objective.  This Goal will be easy to measure in pounds per week and pounds per month.  If you can’t measure your progress, then you need to restate your objective.

3.  A is for Achievable: The next important factor to setting Goals is that they must be easily Achievable. Our objective is to lose 10 pounds by April 1st.  We know that it is completely achievable with proper diet and exercise.  It is well documented that you can lose 1-2 pounds per week.  At that rate you can expect it to take approximately 5-10 weeks to achieve our first objective.  To ensure our success, we have given ourselves a little wriggle room and extended this period to 12-1/2 weeks.  In this way, we can factor in missteps, birthday parties, workout injuries or other reasons that you may not lose at least 1 pound per week. You have not boxed yourself into an overly stringent objective that is more likely to cause you stress and cause overeating rather than ease and peace of mind that you will achieve your Goal.

4.  R is for Realistic: This leads into the next factor—Realistic. Realistic Goals are potentially challenging but not so challenging that the chance of success is small.  Make sure that when you are setting up your Goals that you have the tools you need to achieve them.  If you don’t have any means to workout, then it is unlikely that you will be able to lose more than one pound per week.  It’s best if you can set yourself up for success before you state your objective.  In this case we are trying to lose weight – so what do we need to reach that Goal?  Perhaps you need a food scale, gym membership or home gym equipment.  Christmas is a great time to ask for these things and then you are set to begin on January 1.  Said another way, realistic Goals can be accomplished with the tools that you have at your disposal.

5.  T is for Time-based: The final factor is Time.  We didn’t just say we want to lose weight, or we want to lose weight by summer – we broke it down into a manageable time period that makes our Goal real and concrete.  This date is also a good time to review your progress and set up the next objective.  This keeps you accountable for your progress and the achievement of your Goals.

I know this Goals management seems very structured and clinical.  The fact is that you are right but, it also takes into account all the reasons why we fail at achieving our Goals.  I challenge you to try this approach and let me know if it worked for you and if it did not, tell me why not.

By the way, my Goal for 2010 is to become more committed to my workout program. I want to work out using my Gazelle and Fitness Ball consistently 3 times per week, by April 1st.  I’ll let you know how well I’m doing on my Goals too.