As we leave the holiday season behind us and spring into a new year, it’s easy to overwhelm ourselves with goals and resolutions. Making goals for the upcoming year is great but ensuring that we aren’t setting ourselves up for failure is an important component of getting the new year off on the right foot!
A simple way of setting goals that are realistic and motivating is to use the S.M.A.R.T. method. Each goal should have the following components:
Specific: setting goals that have a clear purpose are easier to achieve than those that are vague. What is it exactly that you want to accomplish?
Measurable: to determine if you reached your goal, you must be able to measure it! This can also help you stay motivated if you are able to measure the amount of progress you have made towards reaching your goal.
Attainable: it’s important to set goals that are motivating but they also need to be realistic and achievable. Sometimes we reach for things that are out of our control. Find something that you feel is a stretch currently but will still be attainable with a little work and effort.
Relevant: another way of looking at setting goals is to ask yourself if that goal really matters to you and if it may interfere with any other goals or important parts of your life. If this goal is not important to you in the long run, there is not much of a chance that steps will be made to complete the goal.
Time-bound: finally, if we leave out the concept of time while making goals, there could be more road bumps along the way. Setting a timeline will help keep the goal a top priority and develop a map towards reaching it. We can then ask ourselves: what can be done in this amount of time? What steps do I need to make this week/month/etc. to reach this goal?
Non-S.M.A.R.T. goal: I want to get in shape. VS. S.M.A.R.T. goal: I want to run a 5k in under 30 minutes in April.
Utilizing this method of goal setting will help kick off your 2019 on a positive and motivating note! Want to make a goal to eat breakfast at least 3 days/week? Try out this recipe for veggie-packed egg cups!
Ingredients:
- 6 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 medium bell pepper
- ¾ cup spinach
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Whisk the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Dice the bell pepper into small pieces. Stack the spinach leaves, roll them up, and slice thin.
- Add the spinach, peppers, and shredded cheese to the egg mixture.
- Fill muffin cups ¾ full and bake 20-25 minutes until centers are set and no longer runny.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
By: Katie Jackson, RDN, LD
