This is the time of year people start thinking about New Years Resolutions. Almost 50% of Americans “make” resolutions – that is, they say to themselves “I gotta change X” where the X is their weight, or their job, or their relationship or money situation. But only 8% of those making resolutions actually follow through.
Let me say that again – only 8% of the people who make a resolution actually follow through on it.
The trick, if you want to call it that, is to set SMART goals.
SMART goals are
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
Specific: Just saying “I want to lose weight” or “I want to be rich” is actually more of a wish. Imagine you’re taking a trip. You want to know where you’re headed, don’t you? That’s why a resolution is first and foremost specific. “I want to lose 25 pounds” or “I want to have $10,000 in the bank.”
Measurable: You should have a way to test or measure your progress. This will tell you how far you’ve come, and how much further you need to go to reach your goal. If you set the specific goal of losing 25 pounds, you can weigh yourself and see how much you’ve lost, and how close you are to your target number.
Attainable: If you set unreasonable goals for yourself, it’s easy to get discouraged and quit. Give yourself a goal that requires work, but which you can realistically achieve in a reasonable amount of time. “I want a million dollars in the bank by next week” is Specific, Measurable and Timely, but probably not Attainable or Realistic if your account balance this week is $12.
Realistic: There’s nothing wrong with resolutions that take hard work, but setting goals that you can’t realistically achieve sets you up for defeat. If you work in the mail room, setting a goal of being promoted to company President at your next performance review is unrealistic. You can have a long-term goal of making it eventually – many people have!
Timely: You should set a realistic time deadline for yourself for every resolution. This will give you another guideline for achieving your goals. It tells you when you want to get there, and tells you how fast you need to work towards the goal. “I want to lose 25 pounds in 25 weeks” is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.
Start creating your list of SMART goals right now!
I already started my new years resolution. Woooooohooooo.