It’s that time of year again where we all look back at our previous new year resolutions and assess what happened. Some of us were successful in most things we set out to accomplish and some of our best set out plans fell short. Throughout my many years of setting goals and unfortunately falling short, I have drawn a thorough line and I will share it with you shortly.

           I am not sure if we had the same health class curriculum, but I can vividly remember my teacher talking about setting S.M.A.R.T goals. What are S.M.A.R.T goals? S.M.A.R.T is an acronym that stands for: S: specific, M: measurable, A: achievable, R: relevant, T: time based.  What does this have to do with your fitness goals and new year resolutions? We often fall short of our goals when they are a combination of the above listed. When we say, “This year, I want to get in shape” What does that really mean? I noticed that I get the most out of my goals when I use the S.M.A.R.T. method.  So for example,  personally  this year, I would like to complete The Montreal Half-marathon.

Specific – Make sure your goal is as detailed as possible. When your goal is specific you will have a clear vision of where you would like to go.

Measurable – “What gets measured gets changed”. When setting your goals make sure it is quantifiable. When you can track your goals, it does main things:1. Tracking goals allow you to get an idea on what is or isn’t working. If what you’re doing is working, then it encourages you to keep going and it serves as built in positive reinforcement. On the other hand, if it isn’t working you can  change things and  quickly get back on the right path. 2. Tracking is a way to keep you accountable to yourself.

Achievable – This is the one that’s always given me the greatest reason for pause because I don’t believe in the idea of limiting yourself. There is no rule stopping you from establishing new goals if your first one is too reachable. When setting my goal, we should plan for something we can achieve. If then you achieve your goal much faster than anticipated; then set the bar a little higher.  Once you reach  your goal of losing  20 pounds, evaluate and see if you should  attempt to do it again.

Relevant – Your goal should be aligned with your general overarching vision of your life. This also is a built-in incentive system. As you get closer to your goal, you’re also getting closer to your overall lifestyle.

Time Based – When you have a time-based goal, we create our own deadline. Ideally it should be something that can’t be moved back. With a time based goal this allows us to plan accordingly making small gains over time ultimately until we achieve our goals. On a birthday or anniversary for example.

When we are setting goals this year, let’s be SMART about it.

Comment your SMART goals bellow.