This week for Living Well Month, we are focusing on goal setting. Goal setting gives your life direction whether it's your personal or professional goals. It also gives a boost to your confidence and motivation to achieve those goals. If this is an area you want to improve on, be sure to check out all of the resources on this page.
In order to set a goal, you should invest time, thought, and effort into considering what you want to achieve. Goal setting is the intentional practice of setting an action plan to move towards a goal. Using SMART goals is a great way to do be intentional and specific in developing your plan.S - Specific
Be specific about what you want to achieve. Use questions like Who?,What?, and Where? to help you be specifc about your goals. Think specifically about what you want to accomplish.Example: I want to increase the servings of vegetables I eat each day.M - Measureable
How will you know that you met your goal?How will you measure your progress? You need to decide what will be your indicator that you met the goal successfully. Will it be a measurement of the number of times you complete a task? Or will it be lowering your blood pressure to a certain range?Example: I will eat three servings of vegetables a day.A - Attainable
Is this goal reasonable? Can you accomplish this with the timeframe and resources available?Example: I already have a garden established, so I can grow more vegetables.R - Relevant
Why do you want to reach this goal? Why is it important to you?Example: I want to increase my vegetable intake in order to help me prevent chronic disease and live a healthier lifestyle.T - Time
It's important to set a timeline for accomplishing your goal so that you can evaluate how you're doing. Even if you haven't reached the goal yet, you can still take a look at how you're doing and implement needed changes. When will you start and complete your goal?Example: I will track my vegetable intake for 30 days, but will continue including vegetables in my diet throughout my lifetime.
