July 12, 2022 – Goal setting exercises

 

How in the world am I going to accomplish such a huge task that encompasses so many aspects of my life and takes a year to complete? By taking it day by day! But there are also many tools that I can use to set SMART goals, bolster my resolve, and prepare myself for the challenges and obstacles that I’ll be sure to face.

 

Setting SMART goals

 

Reaching your goals successfully starts with outlining your goals in the SMART way. Goals should be:

 

• Specific – the more specific you are, the easier it will be to pinpoint specific actions to take towards meeting your goal. For example, instead of saying that you want to change your habits, phrase it more specifically: “Every week, for a year, I will adopt a new habit, and keep it up throughout the remainder of the year.”

• Measurable – In this case, you might assume that “every week for a year” is the measure of success for this particular goal. However, there is a more important measurement that determines its success. What exactly does it mean to adopt a new habit? How is it measured? If your goal is to empty the dishwasher every night, and you miss one night, the goal isn’t a failure. But what about missing two nights or three, or even more? Ideally, consistency is what makes a habit form, but realistically, new habits are difficult to adopt. Deciding the right amount is a personal choice. In my case, I’m going to aim for fulfilling each new habit 70% of the time. I know I’m not very disciplined, and will likely falter quite a few times on this quest. Since I don’t want a day missed to make me fall off the program entirely, I’m giving myself what feels like a generous number of passes, while still being ambitious. As the year goes on, I may reserve the right to alter this percentage though. Just sayin’.

• Attainable – This year-long goal is arguably not attainable by me. I have a hard time staying interested in anything new long enough to see it through to the end. Also, though if you look at me and my surroundings you would never guess it, I am a perfectionist. The type of perfectionist that – rather than being perfect – is paralyzed by the thought of anything not being perfect, so I don’t try at all. (Yes, that is so a type of perfectionist!) It will be a huge challenge to achieve this goal, that’s no lie. Giving myself some leeway like the 70% measurement, and focusing on one day at a time are a couple ways that will help. I’ll also choose attainable individual habits to incorporate into this challenge – small things, like brushing teeth every morning, will work better than larger goals, like running a mile a day, when I haven’t exercised consistently in years.

• Relevant – All of the habits I choose are things that I have been inconsistent with in the past, and would like to improve upon. They are relevant to me, but others will most definitely choose different habits that are relevant to them.

• Time-bound – The last day of this challenge will be Sunday, July 9, 2023. That’s the end of the 52nd week. Though ideally, this year will be the beginning of many lifelong improvements for me, I’ll get to assess my overall success in July of next year.

→ By Monday, July 10th, 2023, I will have adopted 52 new habits, and incorporated them into my routine at least 70% of the time.