We all have goals, right? I know I do. And there?s nothing quite like the awesome feeling that comes from reaching a goal and finally being able to say, ?I did it!?
Unfortunately, some goals are harder to achieve than others, and these goals are usually the ones that are the most important to us.
?I want to lose weight? is an example of a very common?and important?goal. It?s the goal of all of our transformation clients, as well as many of our Facebook friends. It?s one of the top New Year?s Resolutions every single year.
https://youtu.be/Qz7Jf7sIcxQ
So why is this goal?and others like it?so hard to achieve? The main reason is this type of goal is not a SMART goal. It?s too vague and open-ended. It?s a really nice wish, but the chances of making this wish into a reality are pretty slim.
In order to be considered SMART, a goal must have these five components:
? Specific
? Measurable
? Attainable
? Relevant
? Time-bound
So how does this process work? Let?s change ?I want to lose weight? into a smaller, more focused SMART goal.
Specific: The questions ?how,? ?what,? and ?when? are answered in this step. ?How? will you lose weight? ?What? will you do to lose weight? ?When? will you do it? This is a specific goal that answers all these questions: ?I will lose 6 pounds in 6 weeks. I will accomplish this by consuming 1500 calories per day and by exercising at least 5 minutes 5 days a week.? Now that?s specific! (I can hear you asking, ?Heidi, only 5 minutes a day?? Yes. That?s the type of promise you make to yourself. Stay with me and it will all make sense ?).
Measurable: To achieve a goal you have to be able to regularly measure your progress. Numbers don?t lie, and they can keep you moving in the right direction or help you refocus your efforts. To make this goal measureable, let?s add, ?I will weigh myself every Monday morning and I will record my progress.?
Attainable: A successful goal must be attainable?not too difficult?or you?re setting yourself up for failure from day one. Yes, you could make a goal to exercise 5 days a week for 30 minutes, but let?s be honest: sometimes life gets in the way and the best plans go out the window, and then you feel like a failure. Make your goal attainable?one you can keep every single day?and you?ll be well on your way to success. You?ll love those daily feelings of accomplishment so much that you might even do more than you?ve promised yourself you?d do (like exercising more than 5 minutes a day)!
Relevant: Make sure your SMART goal is important enough that you?ll want to make the necessary changes and sacrifices to achieve it. Like Chris says, ?Make sure that for you, the juice is worth the squeeze!? (He?s handsome, brilliant and witty!)
Time-bound: A SMART goal must have a time limit so you won?t get sidetracked and not accomplish your goal. A 6-week limit makes this goal time-bound.
Another important aspect of SMART Goals is how they’re stated. You don’t say “I want to,” or “I’ll try”; you say, “I will.” Something as simple as stating “I will” commits you to reaching that goal. It gets rid of the wiggle room.
Once you achieve your first SMART goal, you?ll be ready to set and reach another one, and then another one, and so on until you reach your ultimate goal.
There?s no stopping you now!
xo,
Heidi
Related reading:
Reignite Your Fire to Achieve Your Goals!
The Procrastinator?s Guide to Transforming Your Time Management Skills
12 Lessons Failure Taught Me
Just say NO! My Less Is More Resolution
5 Life Lessons from a Boss Babe
30 Responses
Thank you Heidi for this. I am a RN CCP Health Coach. I use smart goals with my patients everyday. I have helped patients over the years transform thier lives in so many ways. I feel that I would be much more effective if I too was practicing what I preach.
In Fall 1998 I was 89 lbs, graves disease, thyroid storm, thyroid removed emergently, put on wrong thyroid med gained 100 lbs by summer.
I have tried every diet and failed. I think I gave up on myself ever losing this weight. Crying inside.
I think focusing on others has been my coping mechanism and took focus off me. Or did it?
Now at the 20 year Anniversary of my thyroid removal I am ready to Reclaim my Life by Divorcing my excuses, my negative self talk, my avoidance of clothes shopping, my avoidance of dating, my poor nutrition, my lack of exercise, my couch potatoe life style, my sadness.
I am ready to become the active, happy, vibrant, sexy woman I want i see inside and want to become again. My young adult kids have verbalized fear of losing me due to my health. I tell them I’m fine, I’m good but they see beyond the fassad. I realized my actions are not only hurting me but putting stress on.my kids. I am ready to change my actions, change my life here in 2019. I am ready to show my kids that mom is resilient, healthy and fabulous at 50. I want to put an end to my heart disease risk. I want my doctors to say wow see you next year, instead of you are at risk of diabetes and heart disease. Have you considered bariatric surgery. Yes 3 of my doctors recommended bariatric surgery. So scary.
I am motivated, determined to Divorce my excuses, my bad eating habits, my sedentary lifestyle and get back to my active healthy lifestyle like I had in the military.
So here is my 2 week smart goals that I will continue to work on and commit and recommit to every 2 weeks throughout this 90 day transformation challenge hoping for long standing life change.
Goal #1
I will drink 50 % of my weight in ounces of water daily for the next 2 weeks. Currently I drink maybe 2 8 ounce glasses. This is bad habit. My current starting weight 248 lbs. That’s 124 ounces of water. I need prayers for this goal. This will be the hardest.
Goal #2
I will commit to 60 minutes of transformation approved exercise 6 days a week at 5 am daily. I have a gym membership and will finally get my money’s worth. I can tell you that I am so out of shape I cannot grab my foot with my hand from behind unless I crawl it up a wall. At the end of 90 days I want to be able to grab my foot. Committed to 90 day challenge
Goal #3
I commit to improving my nutrition with transformation approved nutrition plan for 90 day challenge to include journaling nutrition daily.
Goal #4
I am buying the vanilla shake. I commit to replacing my breakfast
with this shake daily for the next 90 days.
Goal #5
I am starting my first 15 minutes everyday with bible reading, meditation, prayer and positive self talk before I head to the gym. Ready for my inside /outside full body transformation. 2019 Here I come. I made it through military bootcamp so I know if I get out of my head and focus on the goals this is possible.
Thank you Chris and Heidi. This came at the perfect time! I’m all in.
Hi Donna: You have some great SMART Goals set up! We recommend you work on one thing at a time, and we call this your Power Promise. You can learn more about Power Promises here: https://heidipowell.net/8679 You got this! 🙂
Hi! I just started your carb cycling app. I was one of the lucky ones who got it before it went back down. I just finished my first week and lost 2lbs.. are these kind of result normal? I’ve been very diligent with my diet and trying to get the closet food requirements on the shopping list,, and eating every three hrs (although, that is a bit challenging for me)and drinking plenty of water, and staying on top of my work outs. I’m happy I lost some weight, but I was hoping for a little more of a weight loss my first week. Also, there are some times I don’t finish all the meals and leave about a quarter of it on my plate. Is it necessary for me to eat everything?
Hi Gia: Congrats on losing 2 pounds! I wouldn’t be discouraged, it can take our bodies a bit of time to adjust to a new program, so you should be good to go! And you’ll want to eat all of the food in those meals (that does sound weird for a weight loss program, right?) if at all possible. Your body needs all of those nutrients!
My SMART goal is I WILL lose 10 lbs in the next 6 weeks by using the Transformation app to help guide me to reach my goal. I will accomplish this by walking 7,000 steps a day, 5 days a week. I also will follow the carb cycling way of eating. To make sure I am staying on track I will weigh myself once a week and will remind myself to take it one day at a time. I got this!! 🙂
By the way, the photo is a picture of my handsome son.
What I like about reading your blogs and that they are not only Fitness but also Life!
So Im double doing the goals from your app blogs – Fitness – I want to work out 3 times per week. I’ve upped it to twice and I want to make it three.
Life – we are considering starting our own business, and have to WRITE down some goals so we can get it done. Thanks for your advice, excited to see the app!
I have been slowly working up to running the last year! It’s been hit and miss because as a mom I feel like everyone else comes before myself. My goal is to put myself (my mind AND body) FIRST at least THREE days a week. It would be great to do it every day, but not attainable right now. So this next month, three days a week, I will get my 45 minutes of exercise in no matter what. I feel so much better when I do, I’m a better mom when I do, and I see the physical changes I want. ????? Thanks Heidi and Chris!!
I will lose 10% of my body weight in the next 6 weeks. I will accomplish this by exercising six days a week for a minimum of 15 minutes and making mindful decisions about the foods I eat. I will weigh myself every Monday morning and record my progress. I will make my health a priority every day. Success means tighter control of my blood sugars, less medication, and better overall health.