Goals are very personal. To be truly successful at the goal you set, YOU HAVE TO OWN IT! I say this as someone who works with people who want to work on their wellness with me for my living. In my experience, if the goal is not created, owned and completed by the individual doing the action, then the likelihood for goal success is extremely poor. And today, I am going to share a personal goal I had for my wellness and how I applied “the 5 steps” that lead to my success.
Back Story:
Starting in August of 2014, our daughter began college in another state, 6 hours away from us. Our son had been living 11 hours away from us out of state for college as well since 2011. So, in affect our 21 year daily interaction with at least one of our children was coming to a close.
No, we didn’t throw a party. Nor did we go through a box of Kleenex shedding tears of sadness for the loss of our daily parental over-site roles. However, we did have to adjust to the newfound freedom of personal time. And I had to determine what I wanted to achieve in it:
Become more physically active and healthier.
Not that I wasn’t active while the kids were living with us, but as a parent who worked full-time out of the home much of my time for personal fitness was limited or was coordinated with what my family was doing (soccer, running, hiking). So, at this junction in my life I suddenly had ample time and opportunity to use to get fit or an abundance to squander on the couch!
In 2014, I was already doing cross training once a week that was pretty intense. What was lacking was my commitment to consistent daily activity which I knew was the key to my long term well-being (physically and mentally). To reach my goal of becoming physically active, I broke it down into 5 SMART steps:
1. I created a SPECIFIC goal. Goal: To become more physically active. Specific: physical activity. A physical activity that can be labeled moderate to vigorous
2. Part of my goal had to be MEASURABLE, otherwise how I would I know if I reached it? I started out with: To become physically activity daily as my goal and took out the word more. Daily was the measurable portion of my goal.
3. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a challenge and was not ACHIEVABLE in my initial mindset. So, I adapted it and said 3 days per week to start. New Starting goal: To become physically active at least 3 days per week. Setting an achievable goal for where you are at is a big part of successful goal setting. Is it something I can do 3 days a week? Yes, because it fits into my budget both time and financially.
4. I had looked at what I wanted to do physically based on what I could take on at that moment in time. This is the REALISTIC step of my goal setting. I didn’t start with doing a 10k run 3 days a week. In fact, running a 10k was not even something I want to do for a challenge or for fun EVER. Plain and simple, running a 10K was not realistic for me. Therefore, I continued with my one day - 60 minute cross training group class plus 2 days of 60 minutes of brisk walking. Being honest and realistic with myself from the start allowed me to build up my self confidence to increase my physical intensity over time.
5. TIMELY: I created a timeline where I gained consistency with my goal before increasing my commitment to both the number of days and intensity of physical activity. I did not set deadlines for when I needed to make changes to my goal level. I simply revisited my happiness and energy level available with the activities I was choosing. I adjusted what I was doing based on my reflective responses.
5 years later, I am happy to report I have adjusted my goal: To BE physically active daily!
I am no longer becoming physically active….I am! AND I am able to do it daily without pause, worry or injury.
Currently, each week I do the following: Two beach walks,
2 pickle-ball sessions
plus either a 20 mile bike ride or a run on the weekend with my husband.
Yes, there are weeks where I do hit that couch instead of the pavement. But it is now the exception and not the rule in my life!
These 5 steps are called SMART goal setting and used quite often in the corporate and coaching world. Each step in the process brings structure and trackability into each goal:
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely = SMART!
It’s an easy way to remember each step while reminding yourself that you are SMART for doing this process. It can only lead to your success!
As always, if you would like coaching and support in setting your SMART nutritional and wellness goals, please contact me at costeffectiverd.com! I am excited to work together toward your personal success!
written by Alicia Cost, M.S., R.D.N., L.D.N.