Writing Goals to Grow
New beginnings and fresh starts are usually inspired by the beginning of a new year. Which is why every time a new year begins, people take advantage of it to create resolutions with a goal to become better versions of themselves.
Well tomorrow marks the first day of 2023 so if you haven’t made your resolutions yet, it’s not yet too late! The process of creating resolutions will make you reflect on the past, present, and future to help you figure out where you have been, where you're heading and what path you need to take to get there.
But you know what… truth be told, making resolutions for the new year are relatively simple. The trick lies in keeping them!
Did you know that February 1st is the day most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions? And that less than 8% of people stick to them each year. Sounds crazy right…
We conducted a survey with 25 of my patients who enrolled in a New Year 2023 program to see what obstacles they faced in the past which caused them to not stick to their New Year's resolutions and here’s what they said.
Turns out, the top 3 reasons why they didn’t accomplish their resolutions were:
● lost motivation
● did not plan concrete steps to achieve their goals,
● and they set unrealistic goals.
Hmm, what exactly should you do to avoid this from happening to you?
There are a lot of strategies you can do yet what’s important is to start off on the right track by creating meaningful goals. Most people think that a goal is simply saying “I want to eat healthier” or “I want to lose weight”, but those are just aspirations or what you desire. When creating goals, you need to take time to figure out how exactly you’re going to do it and plan SMART.
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Let’s go ahead and try this together.
S stands for SPECIFIC
It is best to know exactly what you are attempting to do and keep it small. Many of my patients want big results fast which I understand yet we have to start small and specific to yield results. Think of just a few words to make it specific and straightforward. More than that will begin to feel overwhelming, or worse, scattered which many lead to doing nothing. Here are some that may work from a nutritional perspective:
Stop Stress Eating
Drink More Water
Avoid Processed Food
Eat More Plant Foods
When you have a clear purpose in mind, it leaves little space for doubt.
M stands for MEASURABLE
Your goal should be easily quantifiable to determine if you did it. It helps you to figure out if you got there or not. This allows you to know how you are doing. Find a way to know whether you’re doing it or not and track that. Here are some examples:
Each day
Four days per week for 30 minutes
For the next 3 months
A stands for ATTAINABLE
Be real. It’s great to be ambitious yet unrealistic goals can make people feel defeated and unsuccessful. For example:
You can’t just say you want to run a marathon in 2 months if you’ve never even tried running in the first place.
Or, I am going to become vegan if you do not like to experiment with new foods AND you won’t try beans or tofu AND only like an extremely limited number of vegetables and fruit.
R stands for RELEVANT
List the reasons you have for setting this objective after giving them some thought. For example:
Is this goal truly important to you at this time in your life?
Is this goal in alignment with what supports your happiness and wellbeing?
T stands for TIMELY
Give it some thought as to how long it will take you to complete your goal. Consider your past to determine how long it might take you to fulfill this resolution if you put in the necessary time and effort. You are expected to fulfill this goal in the time you determine for example:
For the week (Sometimes shorter amounts of time help you to feel you accomplished and then you can continue for longer.)
For the next 6 months (By this point, you should be feeling the effects and not want to go back to your old habits.)
By following these steps, you can create New Year's resolutions that are worthwhile and ones that you can achieve with some effort and commitment.
Here are some examples which may guide you yet remember, you really want to take time to be sure this is SMART for you:
I will eat at least 5 different plant foods each day to reach 30 different plant foods each week.
I will try a plant food recipe each week to incorporate new varieties.
I will engage in a new activity daily (paint, draw, walk) instead of my typical stress eating time (i.e. afternoon or after dinner).
I will check-in with myself twice daily when I am stressed: 'I feel ____.', journal in the app and then breath and do a physical activity.
I will finish three-16.9-ounce bottles of water daily by filling them nightly and setting a timer to drink throughout the day.
I will no longer drink any beverages with sugar and replace this with water or unsweetened tea daily.
I will engage in physical activity 30 minutes per day for 4 days per week.
I will complete a 15-minute strength training video to work different muscle groups 4 times per week.
But if you feel like you need a little push, don’t be afraid to ask for help. I, for one, cherish the opportunity to guide you into reaching your health and nutrition goals.
Ultimately, enjoy the process and don’t put so much pressure on yourself. The good news is if you slip up, you can always get back up and continue where you left off. Some of my patients state they felt challenge in the past because they felt they had to be perfect. Remember, nobody is perfect! We have to learn from our mistakes in this journey of growth and awareness, aka living!
Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2023. Cheers to another year!
