How to set “SMART” Goals Instead of Resolutions

How to Practice Smart Goals instead of Resolutions hi, my name is Rachel Havocost. I'm a writer and mental health advocate. And my goal is to help one person feel less alone by sharing my experiences with mental illness, mental health, and going through therapy. So the New Year's is a time when people often will set resolutions, which I do think is a really lovely thing to do. And I often feel like resolutions are coming from a place of lacking self, love and doing something because we feel like there's something we need to change rather than setting goals, which is coming from a place of loving ourselves and wanting to do something for our lives and for the betterment of our existence.

So when setting goals, I like to use the smart goals framework. It's a framework that I learned in therapy and each letter stands for something different. So I'm going to break it down for you and how to do it. So smart stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. So when we set goals for ourselves, sometimes we create these expectations or ideas for ourselves that are. That are really hard to reach. And then we feel disappointed or upset with ourselves because we didn't accomplish something that we wanted to.

So setting smart goals is a really gentle and loving way to set goals for ourselves that are actually achievable. So the S stands for specific. Meaning, is my goal specific or is it super general? When we have a really general goal, sometimes it's hard for us to really know if we're actually accomplishing it or not. When it's specific, it's really clear to us exactly what it is that we're wanting to do and how to make it happen. M stands for measurable, which is kind of the how do we make it happen?

So how do I know when I've accomplished this goal? Is my goal to run three miles? And if so, like, I've got three there, instead of saying I'd like to run more. So by making it measurable, we allow ourselves something concrete that we can hold onto to and work towards. Is it achievable? So again, if I've never run in my life and I make my goal to run 10 miles, that's going to be pretty hard to achieve. And so it's good for us to also set goals that we know we can achieve in a timely manner. The realistic part is also, is it realistic for me?

So let's say I've never run before and I want to start running if I have no injuries, if I'm. If I'm well enough to move my body in that way, it's probably realistic for me to set some running goals, but if I've just hurt my knee or maybe I'm recovering from something else physically, maybe a running goal might not be the most realistic for me. And then timely is at what point do I want to finish this goal? And again, setting a time frame for ourselves that is actually achievable. So maybe my goal is I'd like to be able to run three miles by the end of February.

So I've set a timeframe for myself. I've set a realistic goal that is something I could achieve. I'm able to measure it and it's specific. I hope this was helpful and I would love to know if you're setting any smart goals for the new year and let me know in the comments what they are. And if you're setting resolutions, that's lovely too. And again, try and be gentle with yourself and have these all come from a place of wanting to do something for yourself and not because you feel like there's something about you that needs to change.