Community Voices for Health

By: Kristen Clifford

Happy New Years! Another year has come and gone.  That means it is that time of year again when everyone makes New Years resolutions.  Most people have a long list of things they want to change or accomplish in the up coming year.  The problem is that very few people ever actually accomplish their new goals.

Unfortunately, it’s often said that less than 25% of people ever achieve the resolutions they set. (source Success Your Way)

Here are a few helpful tips I have found on not only setting goals, but reaching them:

Make Them Measurable

In order to set goals, you need to have a way to measure them. You can’t simply say you “want to be healthier.”  That is not measurable, at the end of the year how are you able to know if you’ve reached your goal, if you aren’t even clear what that goal is.  Instead of getting healthier as a goal, pick a set number of pounds you want to lose, or certain tasks you consider healthier.  Like drink 8 glasses of water a day, or exercise 3 times a week. Those goals are all measurable, so it is straight forward, you either reach or you don’t.

Make Them Obtainable

People often fail to reach their goals, because they are simply to hard to accomplish. You can’t expect to go from never reading to setting out to read 100 books in a year. Start smaller, if you reach your goal, it is easy enough to set new ones. Start with a simple goal of reading 2 books a month, or 24 books in the year.  If your goals are too big, you are already starting off on the wrong foot, by setting yourself up for failure.

Make It Something You REALLY Want To Change/Accomplish

This one seems pretty basic, but it’s true. Don’t say you want to lose weight this year, just because that’s what everyone says. Make goals that you really WANT to accomplish. Our goals should not be punishment and they shouldn’t all be unfun goals. There are other things to strive for other then weight and money management. Maybe set a goal of taking a day each month to pamper yourself, or set a goal to do at least 1 outdoor activity as a family each month. Just enjoy what you are setting out to accomplish.