There is something motivating about starting off a new calendar year with new goals to accomplish, but motivation can quickly fade when reality sets in and the going gets tough. In fact, only about 8% of people see their resolutions through.  This isn’t a reason to skip setting new goals, instead it is time to rethink how we shape goals so they are more attainable. As a board certified health coach, I have some tips for setting smarter resolutions to help you start strong in January and keep crushing your goals all year long.

Set a SMART Goal

SMART is an acronym health coaches use to help people set goals. It stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Let’s break this down further.

Specific: Be clear and specific about your goals. For example, instead of wanting to “go to bed earlier”, give yourself a specific bedtime. Try switching this general goal to “I want to go to bed at 10pm.”

Measurable: Make sure your goal is trackable. How will you know when you’ve met your goal?

Attainable: Make sure your goal is within your scope and with some hard work and discipline can be met.

Relevant: Honesty check time- is this goal REALLY important to you? Sticking with a goal is hard. Think about why the goal is important to you and how it aligns with your values and priorities.

Timely: Set a time frame for accomplishing your goal.

Let’s take a look at an example of a common goal, and how to make it “smart!”

Goal: I want to eat healthier.

Smarter goal: Because I want to eat healthier, I am going to make a vegetable side with dinner at least 3 days a week this month.

What are your goals heading into 2023? How can you make them “smarter”? Drop your goals in the comments below!