Throughout college and at various professional development activities I have attended as a teacher, setting S.M.A.R.T Goals has been on the agenda several times. I think my fellow educators can relate to this post and might even know exactly where I am going with it. For those not familiar with the acronym, S.M.A.R.T stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time based. S.M.A.R.T Goals can really be used for any aspect of your life, not just in an educational or work setting. I found the concept especially important when starting this whole lifestyle change.
I think one of the reasons I continually failed at reaching my goals in the past was because my goals were not S.M.A.R.T. I was only thinking about the end result. I wanted to be skinny, or I wanted to lose a ton of weight, or I wanted to be a waaayyyy smaller size. These goals were all so vague and did not include a plan on how to achieve the end result, so I gave up when I didn't start seeing immediate results (a pattern I have worked very hard to break).
Instead of aiming for a size or a description, like skinny, I knew ultimately I needed to get more active and choose healthier lifestyle options. This combo would lead to my desired results (easier said than done, am I right?). I decided to start small, setting goals that were intentionally S.M.A.R.T. and would break down my overall goal into smaller pieces that would lead to success.
One of the first goals I set for myself was to get moving more. In order to be specific, I told myself I would wake up ten minutes earlier in the morning and walk my dogs, then I would come home and walk them for at least 30 minutes in the afternoon, and they would get a 20 minute walk in the evening. This is something that I could measure by timing my walks and keeping track of the days I completed the full hour. (It also helped that my dogs started getting used to going on such long walks, so I felt guilty if I cut them short.) One hour a day of walking was completely attainable, and it was relevant to meeting my overall goal of getting in more regular exercise. This particular goal was not necessarily time based, but I told myself I wanted to do it for at least 21 days in order to create the habit.
After 21 days of walking for an hour a day, I did start to feel a little better health wise, and I had built the habit. I continued incorporating the activity because it had become part of my routine. It was a small victory, so I started to build on my S.M.A.R.T goals, adding more challenges that incorporated eating as well. For example I told myself I would pack a well balanced lunch every day of the week to take to work, and I would cook healthy meal at home at least five out of the seven days of the week. I set this goal at the beginning of every week, so it was actually time based. By repeating it every week, I started forming that habit again, and I also didn't let one failed week bring me down (another absolutely terrible habit of mine I will address in a future post). I could measure this goal by keeping track of my meals on a food logging app, it was attainable even allowing for a couple of fun meals out, and it was relevant to my overall goal of changing my lifestyle to be more active and healthy. My walking goal and eating goal were pretty minor in the grand scheme of my plan, but they were victories, and you should always count your victories no matter the size!
One of the most important aspects of these examples, as well as other goals I have set for myself, is that they are realistic (or to stick with the acronym, attainable). Another important aspect of setting and tracking S.M.A.R.T. goals is reflecting on what went wrong if you didn't achieve the set goal in your time frame. I like to start by asking myself if my goal was actually attainable or realistic. For example when I first started actually losing weight, I would say I am going to lose five pounds by the end of the week. At first this goal was exciting because I was losing weight so quickly (once I got it rolling), but after I plateaued, I began to feel very discouraged when I didn't lose that five pounds. I wasn't being realistic; the goal was not attainable once I lost the majority of the extra body fat I was carrying (I was averaging a pound or two a week which is completely healthy).
If I deem the goal attainable, I have to think about any other factors that held me back from achieving my goal. Usually too may of those "fun meals" got in my way. It is important at this point to set a new goal (or start over with the same goal) and work on fixing what went wrong. It is so easy to give up and put blame on outside factors, but this is a defining moment. By continuing your effort and making corrections, you learn and grow, and that alone should be something to celebrate.
By being intentional when setting goals, I was able to hold myself accountable. I did not abandon any goals like I had done so frequently in the past. Following the S.M.A.R.T. philosophy, I have been able to set and achieve some pretty lofty goals over the past year, but I had to start small in order to grow. This growth has had such a positive impact on my self confidence and mental health. You might be surprised how achieving smaller goals can lead to great things. With all that being said, in my personal opinion, if you aren't setting a S.M.A.R.T goal, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert when it comes to exercise, dieting, nutrition, mental health etc.
However I do try to educate myself using reliable sources in order to be safe and healthy. Just because something works/worked for me does not mean it will work for everyone. The purpose of this blog is to inspire others with a story about continued hard work, dedication, and self love.
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