Resolutions vs Goals: 5 ways to challenge your thinking and have your best year yet
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I don’t set New Years Resolutions. I think there’s a negative connotation with them, so instead I set goals. I know, I know, resolutions vs. goals just sounds like semantics, but words have power, and so do the thoughts and feelings behind them.
So here is part 1 of some goal setting strategies. Stay tuned for part 2 where we’ll dive a little bit deeper into using intuition to set goals with purpose, intention, and clarity.
1. Comparison is the thief of joy
First things first, my goals don’t have to look anything like yours. I love checking in with friends and patients about goals they have. I learn a lot just by listening to others talk about their dreams and desires, and the ways they intend to achieve success. And remember, a lot like the article I wrote for Shoutout Atlanta – talking about work/life balance – we can use the examples of other’s goal setting habits to formulate what works best for us. Understand though that ultimately it is your journey, and your goals don’t have to look or sound like anyone else’s.
2. Setting SMART goals
As a scientist, I love to engage in some analytical thinking when it comes to goal setting. The acronym SMART is a good way to track success. It’s one thing to say that you want to lose weight, or exercise more, but the HOW aspect is very important
S: specific – having a specific and clear goal is just as important as having a very well-defined end point or success measurement.
M: measurable – you’ve got to be able to track your goal and measure when that goal has been met.
A: attainable – it’s great to have ambition, but if your goal is too big, it can make success difficult. Maybe you can break it down into segments (more on that later in the blog).
R: relevant: let’s check in to make sure that all the steps to achieving your goal fit in line with the bigger theme.
T: time-bound: setting a time frame helps keep you on track, and ensures you’re making progress.
3. Breaking Habits
Sometimes our goals have to do with habits that we want to break. It’s extremely difficult to say, “I want to stop drinking coffee”. (I would never say that though!!) Maybe there’s something you could replace the coffee with that is a healthier alternative? The book, Power of Habit, has some great insight into why we do the things we do, and how to break unhealthy cycles that don’t serve us.
4. What gets scheduled gets done!
If there’s some activity that you want to start doing, I’d suggest scheduling it! Yes, we can be an over-scheduled society, but I challenge you to put your goals on your schedule and see if you are able to incorporate them into your daily activities. Even if the goal is to eat more servings of vegetables. Plan out the menu, right it down, and schedule it. Remember when I talked about breaking goals up into segments. Schedule some time weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc to analyze your goals and make sure you’re on track.
5. Mindset shift
A simple mindset shift can do wonders for helping you achieve your goals. Instead of thinking of things in a restrictive manner – cutting out certain foods, stopping an activity, and looking at things from a negative standpoint…..consider the alternative. You get to eat more fruits and veggies. You get to move and exercise your body more. You get to drink more water. This is very simple but can make a big impact.
My hope is that you do set some goals this year. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you have a goal and a vision for your life. And I do hope that there’s room for chiropractic care in the health and wellness goals and vision that you have.
Stay tuned: Part 2 to my goal setting strategies is all about using our intuition to find goals that align with us while also honoring the importance of being flexible with the outcomes.
~Dr. Shannon