5 Tips To Establishing SMART Healthy Lifestyle Goals

No matter what any of us want to achieve in our lives, it is imperative that we set goals.

It doesn’t matter if you are trying to create a healthier lifestyle to lose weight or starting a new career, the process of achieving your dreams remain the same.

You must KNOW what you want.

What is a goal? Simply stated, a goal is a personal objective that you want to achieve within a specific time period. For your goals to be effective and attainable, they must be realistic, challenging, and more importantly, flexible.

1. Be specific. Know what you want.

Knowing what you want often times begins with a dream you have for your life… Your dream represents an idea of what you want. Your dream does not detail the specific details or process of the journey ahead.

Insert goals. Your goals become your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual tasks you wish to accomplish. As defined above, goals are personal objectives. Each goal you establish must be specific, measurable (trackable), and achievable within a certain amount of time.

Tip: Be realistic. Unrealistic goals will always derail your efforts and skew your expectations.

2. Write your goals down.

Writing down your goals makes them real. There is something that happens when you put your ideas, goals, and visions on paper. We don’t mean typing them out on a computer. Get your favorite journal or a small steno notebook and WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS..

3. Establish a realistic time frame.

Establish deadlines for your goals. These deadlines should be realistic and challenging so you stay motivated. Your deadlines will reflect those goals you can attain in a short period of time (short term goals) and those things that will take longer (long term goals).

4. Measure your goal.

You must be able to track/measure your goals. By measuring your progress, you can make the necessary adjustments in your actions or to your goals. Remember, goals are about progress and process NOT perfection.

Whether you are measuring, for example, your weight loss, body fat%, or measuring improvements in your training, you must determine the aspects of your goals that you can measure and track. Every goal will have something that can be measured. This step will help you determine if you are making positive progress or if you need to fine tune a few adjustments.

5. Hold yourself accountable.

Your input will determine your output. Remember, these are your dreams and goals. No one can achieve them for you. You know when you are giving your best effort and you also know when you are procrastinating and taking short cuts.

Hold yourself accountable. Look at what you are doing and be willing to make the necessary adjustments.