Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Download PDFBe smart and plan S.M.A.R.T!
The first step to making a healthy lifestyle change is to decide what is important to you. Writing down your goals will help change your wishful thinking into a recipe for taking action!
S.M.A.R.T. stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely
Be Specific
Specific goals help to clearly define what you are going to do. It is much easier to reach a specific goal - “exercise 3 days a week” than a general goal - “get in shape.” Specific goals answer for example,
- WHAT? “I want to lose 10 pounds.”
- WHY? “I want to lower my blood pressure to decrease my risk of a heart attack.”
- HOW? “I am going to walk for 30 minutes every day after dinner.”
Be Measurable
Measuring your progress helps you stay on track and keeps you motivated to achieve your goals. For example, “I want to lose 2 inches off my waist” is a measurable goal, while “I want to slim down” is not.
Be Attainable
A goal should require a real commitment. It needs to pull you out of your comfort zone but not be too far out of reach. For example, a goal of losing 1 pound per week is more attainable than losing 20 pounds per week.
Be Realistic
A realistic goal is one that is do-able. For example, if you have a sweet tooth and currently eat 5 sugary foods per day, a realistic goal might be to reduce this number to 3 or 4. After a month, you may want to reduce this number again! Breaking down a large goal into smaller goals helps to keep it realistic.
Be Timely
Set a timeframe for your goal (1 week, 3 months, 6 months, etc.) to help you stay motivated with a clear target.
