New Year... New You?

Happy 2019 everybun!

Can you believe that it's already the start of the new year? My 2018 was so eventful, it just flew by! I graduated college, married the love of my life, and moved all the way across the country. But I can't wait to see what happens in 2019!

The new year is an optimistic time for many people. Everyone reflects on the past year and comes up with ways to make their next year EVEN BETTER. I love this concept. Who doesn't? However... how many people do you think actually meet their New Years resolutions? My guess... probably not that many. But I have a theory as to why that is.

You might be an exception to the rule, but it seems to me that everyone I know that makes resolutions makes the pretty stereotypical, might I say vauge, resolutions that we've all heard before. They want to lose weight, eat healthier, save more money, be more present, the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, these are all great things to strive for. But they're all such BIG overarching resolutions, and they can be overwhelming! Many people start out strong in January, maybe even February... but then they lose their momentum. They hit it fast and hard, and then can't keep it up through the whole year.

Now, imagine this. What if you took that big overarching resolution.. and broke it down into a bunch of smaller weekly goals?

Let me tell you about a little something called a SMART goal.

I know, I know, I'm getting all health-coach on you. But just hear me out.

A SMART goal is a type of goal that most health coaches (and other health professionals) use to help clients. Typically they are goals that you work towards over the following week. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. Let's break it down.

S = SPECIFIC:

This means that your goal has to be SUPER SPECIFIC. I seriously mean as specific as you can get (within reason). The best type of specific goal is one that you can look at at the end of the week and either say "YES, I did that!" or "No, I didn't do that... so let's alter next week's goal to something I KNOW I can do".

Let's use "eat healthier" as our example resolution. If you simply made "eat healthier" your weekly goal, at the end of the week, could you say WITHOUT A DOUBT that you ate healthier? Well... maybe you could. But that's a pretty vague thing to check off your list. Maybe you cut back on your soda intake this week, but you also indulged in a big bacon cheeseburger from your favorite fast-food joint. Are you able to check that box? Maybe you can! But... maybe you can't. It's pretty hard to say, and it depends on the person. But... if your goal was "eat a side salad with lunch 3 days this week", that's a pretty cut and dry "yes" or "no" question. You either did, or you didn't. There isn't a question about it. You could even get more specific, if you wanted to, and make a goal of "eat a side salad that includes spinach and tomatoes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of this week". For some people, that extra specificity might be helpful, but others like the freedom of not going quite that specific. You find the level of specificity that works for you. But remember, at the end of the week I want you to know FOR SURE if you can check that box off or not.

M = MEASURABLE:

How will you track your progress this week? At the end of the week, if you can't quite remember each specific day that you sat down and ate a side salad with your lunch, what will you look at for confirmation? Will you keep a food journal with you and track what you eat so that you can look back at it at the end of the week and count those salads? Will you make a note in your phone and save it each time you eat a salad? Will you take a selfie with your side salad each time you eat it? Get as creative as you want, but make sure you have some way to document your progress.

A = ATTAINABLE:

Is this goal attainable for you? Close your eyes and picture the things that could likely stop you from reaching your goal. Write them down. Good.

Now.... come up with solutions for those barriers. If one of those things happens, what will you do to overcome it and reach your goal? Or what is something you can do to prevent that barrier from occurring?

Let's go back to our salad example. Maybe you have a group of friends that often meet up at a local diner for lunch. Maybe the diner has a side option of some really great french fries. Maybe you're afraid that you'll give in and order those fries instead of a side salad. What can you do to prevent this?

Let's brainstorm. Maybe you could suggest a new restaurant to your friends - one that doesn't focus on onion rings and fries. Maybe you can look at the menu ahead of time and make a list of the salads the diner has that are appealing to you so that you are more likely to order one of those. Maybe you could pack your own salad and bring it with you so that you are more likely to eat the pre-packed salad and save money.

Heck, maybe you even decide that eating a side salad 3 times this week, and also allowing yourself to share a few fries with your friends once this week, is still a step in the right direction. So you decide to go back to that super specific goal of eating salads on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and specifically schedule lunch with your friends for a different day.

There's many options here, but I think you get the point. Sit down and pick some solutions that sound reasonable to you so that you can increase the likelihood of checking off that box!

R = REALISTIC:

Notice how the salad goal example was for 3 days. You might be wondering why it wasn't 5 days, or even 7 days. Well, if you are someone who isn't used to eating a ton of salads throughout your week, it's a pretty big jump to suddenly dedicate EVERY LUNCH THIS WEEK to eating those salads. Are you 100% confident that you could do that this week? Maybe you are, but many people might feel that 3 days is a bit more feasible than 5 or 7.

Now, maybe 3 days is still too much to start off with, and that's okay! If you aren't 100% confident that you could eat a side salad with lunch 3 days this week, then how about 2 days? How about 1? Fine tune the specifics of the goal so that it is REALISTIC for you. Even if it's a baby step. Maybe you originally wanted to make a goal of eating a big salad as your meal 3 times this week, but then decided that eating a side salad 3 times was more realistic for you. Is that still a step in the right direction? My guess is yes. Remember, you want to be 100% confident in your ability to reach your goal!

T = TIME-BOUND:

This is the part of the goal that STOPS YOU FROM PROCRASTINATING. Another issue I hear all the time with New Years resolutions is that people will say "oh, I have 12 months to do it, I'll work on it later in the year". But if you break that big resolution down into a weekly goal, you have a day you have to complete it by, that isn't a full year away! You HAVE to eat those 3 side salads THIS WEEK in order to check off that box. Write down when you have to accomplish your goal by. Typically I recommend giving yourself a week.

Then, at the end of the week, you can sit down and decide if you can check that box or not. From there you can assess and decide what the next week's goal should be - do you want to do that same goal again next week? Are you more confident now and you want to eat a side salad 4 times next week? Was the 3 days just a little too ambitious and you want to drop it down to 2 days next week? Or maybe you decided that salads really aren't for you and you'd rather eat healthier by substituting your refined grain bread for whole grain bread, so you make a specific goal to buy whole grain bread at the grocery store this week instead. Pick a new goal that best serves you this upcoming week.

Now, I want you all to look at your resolutions. Be proud you made them. It's awesome that you want to work towards something.

And now... decide what you can do THIS WEEK to get yourself one step closer to that resolution. Check off those boxes! I believe in you!

Hoppy New Years everyone!