If you’ve been following my posts in this series, you should already understand how important it is to set goals. Now we want to make your goals “SMART”.
S-M-A-R-T is a well-known acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-oriented.
For example, set a specific weight as your goal. Don’t just intend to “lose weight” if you are overweight. Use the BMI chart to help find your target weight. Don’t just pick a target weight out of the air, something you think you might like to weigh or that might flatter your general build. Sex appeal is nice, but controlled diabetes is much nicer. And being healthier has sex appeal of its own.
You goal answers the question, “What will I achieve?” A good goal states this positively, not negatively. In other words, it is what you will do, not what you won’t. “I will have good blood sugars” is positive, while “I will not have high blood sugars” is stated negatively.
Another major ingredient in setting your goal is to answer, “Why?”. You must have a firm grasp on why you want to achieve the goal. Why provides the desire and commitment it takes to achieve your goal. If you can’t concretely answer why you have the goal you do, or why you want to achieve it, then you are not going to achieve it.
The most effective “whys” reflect your core beliefs. When you believe that your goal is right and good, and that it is right and good that you should achieve it – and that it would not be good and perhaps even wrong if you were to fail – help to motivate you and keep you on track. Do what you believe in, and you will have greater success.
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