Want to establish healthier habits? Start the right way by setting a SMART health goal. When done well, SMART health goals keep you motivated so you can build better habits.
How to Set SMART Health Goals Video
How to Set SMART Health Goals Video Transcript
Have you ever set a health and wellness goal for yourself only to get derailed within a day or a week? You are not alone.
You’ll want to pay attention to this week’s Take Five. We’re going to talk about the evidence-based process that I use with my coaching clients to help them set a health and wellness goal that not only is motivating, but one that they can achieve within a short timeframe.
This is the first I’m doing in my series on SMART health goals. So be on the lookout for more on this topic!
What is a SMART health goal?
You may have encountered the acronym SMART goals in a business class or a psychology class. I used to do business consulting, and we always used this model because it’s an evidence-based way to set goals that will keep you motivated.
Specific
Like I said, it’s an acronym. The “S” stands for specific. If you’re setting a health goal for yourself, make sure you are as detailed as possible. Instead of saying something like, “I want to get fit,” write down a goal that’s more specific than that. “I want to go to the gym three days per week,” or even better, “I want to go to the gym for one hour, three mornings per week.” Getting as specific as you can, will make it easier for you to actually stay focused.
Measurable
The “M” in SMART goals is for measurable. We used to have a saying in consulting, “What gets measured, gets managed.” It’s same for ourselves and for our own behavior. It’s hard to manage our behavior if we don’t even know how we’re doing. We don’t know how we’re doing if it’s not something that we can measure.
If you want to change a behavior, make sure that you’re being specific in a way that you can measure it. This way, you will know when you’ve accomplished your goal. You can also know if you’re making progress on the goal.
Instead of saying, “I want to sleep better,” you could say something like, “I want to sleep for seven hours every night.” That is a goal you can check off. That is something you could measure – when you go to sleep or about when you go to sleep and about when you wake up. Same for the workout goal I talked about before. If I say, “I want to get fit,” it’s very difficult to measure that. If I say, “I want to exercise three days per week,” that’s something I can check off. That’s something I know if I’m making progress on, and I know if I’ve accomplished it.
Action-Oriented
The “A” is for action-oriented, meaning it’s not about a feeling or the end goal, but rather a specific action. What can you do to get closer to where you want to be? Instead of saying something like, “I just want to decrease my stress,” “I want to feel well,” or “I want to feel better,” that’s one I hear a lot.
Consider what does that mean to you? What would feeling less stressed look like to you? What actions would you be taking?
For a number of clients I’ve worked with in this area, the action is breathing. It doesn’t have to be a formal meditation process, but they want to take a break five minutes a day, and that is an action. You can “pause to breathe for five minutes a day.” That’s how you get to the end goal of, “I want to feel better,” or “I want to have less stress.”
When we’re talking about actions, we’re focusing on things that we can do.
Realistic
The “R” is for realistic. This is one that my clients struggle with the most. They often focus on big changes, where they’d like to be in a year, or this perfect image of what it would mean to be fit, or to sleep well, or to have less stress.
We really need to break it down and focus on a goal that is realistic. Rather than saying something like, “I’m going to prepare six to seven healthy dinners every week.” Consider, how many are you preparing now? And if that answer is zero or one, then how about instead we set a realistic goal of “I’m going to prepare two dinners a week or three dinners a week,” and we start there.
That’s setting a goal that’s realistic. Otherwise, it’s just too easy to get derailed or to feel demoralized when we can’t reach that picture of perfection.
Time-bound
Finally, the “T” in SMART stands for time-bound, meaning that we have an end timeline in mind. It’s not like we’re setting this big lofty goal of “I’m going to work out all the time,” or “I’m going to work out regularly.” Instead, try “In the next three months, I will work out three days per week.”
It’s less overwhelming to break it down in this way. To have it be time-bound helps you to think in small chunks. You can always expand after that. That’s how we stay motivated when we set a SMART goal.
Another Tip…
I’ve given you a couple of examples of SMART wellness goals that are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and time-bound. Let me give you a pro tip when it comes to setting a health or wellness goal for yourself: think about three month or 12-week timeframes, and set a goal for that.
Think of it as a step towards something bigger that you want to achieve over the course of six or 12-months, but start with a 12 week timeframe. Set a goal that’s a little bit of a stretch, but not a crazy stretch, and be happy with that progress. You can always build on it.
It’s way better to feel that you’ve met and exceeded a goal than to feel like it was just something you could never accomplish to begin with.
Sign Up!
If this was helpful to you and you’re interested in simple, science-based solutions for alleviating stress and anxiety and prioritizing health and wellness, please consider signing up for Take Five, my newsletter that I send out directly to your email inbox. When you sign up, you get my free guide, “Five Ways to Decrease Stress and Build Resilience in Five Minutes or Less.”
Find out how wellness coaching can help you!
If you’re thinking about setting a health or wellness goal for yourself and you’d like some more help, I am a certified wellness coach, and that’s what I do! I offer free consultations to help you assess where you’re at, where you want to be, and how wellness coaching can help you get there. Consider signing up for a free consultation!
You can change your habits.
In the meantime, changing your habits, prioritizing your health, and decreasing your stress does not have to feel overwhelming. There are little things you can do every day to care for yourself. Setting a SMART goal is one of them. Give it a try and let me know how it goes.
