For this week’s Wellness Wednesday, I am so grateful to be able to share with you all tips and tricks from our panelists on what S.M.A.R.T. goals are, and how to make them sustainable.

What are SMART goals? 

S- specific & simple 

M – measurable & meaningful, manifest it

A-  as if now, achievable 

R- realistic, responsible 

T – timed & toward what you want 

One template to create a SMART goal was shared to us by Natalie: It is now the month, day, year and I (full name) have accomplished _________ (the goals)

• Ex. It is now Saturday February 5th 2022 and I, Natalie Jones,  have stopped eating late at night after 9pm. 

Tips on staying motivated with your goals and resolutions: 

• When faced with a challenge, ask yourself: 
  • What assumptions or rules am I coming into this goal with? 
  • Is it helpful to you? 
    • EX: Your goal is to rid yourself of sweets in your diet. A co-worker celebrates his/her birthday with cake in the break room. You eat two pieces during lunch, then decide the day is wasted so why bother.
      • Ask yourself – is eating no sweets a realistic goal?
      • Is thinking: the rest of the day is wasted; I’ve failed; what’s the point… helpful to you?
  • What can you learn from that experience?
  • What can you do moving forward? 
• Normalize challenges and slip-ups. It happens to the best of us! 

• Approach goals flexibly and compassionately. 

• Reward & reinforce yourself – how are you going to pat yourself on the back ?? Change is hard! Make it as fun and pleasant as possible!  
  • A manicure?
  • New running shoes or workout gear?

• Track & celebrate ALL of your progress. 

• Make it fun & make it easy. If working toward your goal feels like a chore you may find yourself less committed to following through. 

• Try to incorporate something you enjoy into your goal. 
  • Ex. if you like being social and want to increase your exercise explore finding a work-out buddy.

• Add or subtract “Friction” to make goals easier to achieve 
  • Add friction to make something more difficult.
    • Ex. If you want to decrease a behavior like late-night snacking, move your potato chips to the highest shelf. The few extra steps may give you enough time to question if you’re actually hungry.
  • Decrease friction to make something easier.
    • Ex. If you want to increase a behavior like drinking more water, consider the container you are using. If it’s pleasant to look at, easy to transport and a larger size you may be more likely to drink more as you cut out an extra step of walking back to the sink to get more water.

• Add new habits to things you’re already doing. 
  • Ex. You’d like to increase the amount you meditate. Begin meditating while cooking in the kitchen. 

CONNECT your goal/ resolution with your WHY – remind yourself why you’re doing this! 

If you would like to see the video of our discussion group exploring what SMART goals are, why we use them and how to maintain them please email shelby@cclyme.org.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for help. These are two available resources:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
Crisis text line:  741741

If you have a wellness themed topic you would like to share or learn more about, and/or blog/vlog about as an expert in a health/wellness related field, please reach out to shelby@cclyme.org. 

Shelby Wood
Manager of Program Development
CommunityCare of Lyme
Shelby@cclyme.org
802-468-7776