New Year New You: Goals
Welcome to the New Year!
This signifies a time where we want to move forward or improve ourselves. Creating resolutions is something we do to motivate ourselves, but sometimes we feel guilty or bad if we don’t meet those expectations. Instead, let’s talk about goals for yourself and making sure these are things that help motivate you rather than stress you out!
When making goals for yourself, remember to make them SMART goals. SMART is actually an acronym to help construct goals for yourself that make sense and tailored to you. Here’s how to remember it:
The “S” stands for Specific. This means when creating a goal for yourself you want to be specific about this goal. Ask yourself, what is it exactly? What do you want to achieve and what are the conditions? It’s basically the with, who, what, when, where, and when of deciding a goal. For example, let’s say my goal is to be more artistic this year. What exactly does this mean? To make it more specific, I could say my goal would be to start sewing a new outfit this year.
The “M” stands for measurable. You want to make sure your goal is measurable so you can feel the accomplishment of the goal and set the boundary of what is expected. For example, If my goal is to start sewing a new outfit, to make it measurable I could say, I want to sew one whole dress. By doing this my goal feels a lot clearer and if I reach it I can feel that sense of accomplishment.
The “A” stands for achievable. You want to make your goal something that is not impossible so you don’t set yourself up for failure. Do you have the means and supplies to do this goal? Is the time and what is expected reasonable for a human being to accomplish?
The “R” stands for Realistic (or Relevent). Is this goal realistic for you? Is it relevant to you? People often ask what’s the difference between Realistic and Achievable? Isn’t that the same thing? Well, let’s put it this way. It is achievable and not impossible to finish a short novel within a week, but if you have a job or other obligations maybe it’s more realistic for you if you only read three chapters since most likely you wouldn’t under-prioritize job or social relationships just to finish a book.
Lastly, the “T” stands for Timely. Make a reasonable deadline and plan to start your goal. Make sure the time you set for yourself is realistic in what time you can accomplish this.
By creating goals with SMART you can make goals for yourself that fit you. The last thing to remember when creating these goals is to also be flexible! It’s ok to change your goal or times when you see fit. Don’t also make this a goal a should. It creates an expectation of you /should/ do this and can create guilt. Instead, looking at a goal if this is something I would like to do or want to do. Remember goals are meant to be positive and give yourself something to push that confidence and motivation. So be kind to yourself and go there and be the person you inspire to be.
