It’s January! How many of us have set a New Year’s Resolution? We know that there is often a push to make great changes in the new year, yet so many who start with the best intentions fall off quickly. There are many factors that can go into why someone cannot keep a resolution, from time constraints, to changes in circumstances, to financial strain. For some though, the issue is creating a resolution/goal that is unrealistic. 

When discussing goal setting we want to set what are called SMART goals these are goals that are:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable 

Realistic and

Time-Bound

Too often when we are setting goals we create what are referred to as VAPID goals, or goals that are:

Vague

Amorphous

Pie in the sky

Irrelevant

Delayed

Let us break down a very common New Year’s Resolution, getting fit, and create first a VAPID goal with this resolution, then turn it into a SMART goal.

The Resolution: I’m going to get fit in 2024! I’ll go to the gym every day, eat healthy, and lose weight!

The above is a variation of a very common resolution. Let’s break down all four parts. 

Get fit

This is very vague it’s not clear what the definition of fit is, or how one would go about achieving this. It is also amorphous as there is no clear stop point. When is one fit enough, is there an end point to this goal? Why is this the goal? Also, under what time frame will the goal be happening this is something that can easily be delayed. 

The next three pieces are set to try and add clarity to getting fit. The person will go to the gym, eat healthy, and lose weight. Let us look at each of these three pieces and understand how they fall into VAPID goals.

Go to the Gym Every Day

This portion of the goal is clear. There could be more clarity about what will occur at the gym, however, that is implied by the larger goal. Given these two points this goal is neither Vague nor Amorphous. It is however a Pie in the sky. It is unreasonable for someone to expect that they will go to the gym every single day. There are some folks out there who are able to get to the gym most days but everyone needs time to rest. Even fitness experts will tell you that you need rest and recovery days. What happens if you are sick or traveling? Also, with the goal of going every day if you miss a day, you didn’t meet your goal. Will you give up then? This goal could also easily be delayed and just never get off the ground. 

Eat Healthy

Unfortunately here again we see a Vague and Amorphous goal. It might be a Pie in the sky as well depending on the current eating habits of the individual. If they are eating burgers and fries for every meal suddenly switching to a whole new diet is going to be very difficult to maintain. With the goal being so vague it too can easily be delayed. 

Lose Weight

I hope by now you are asking yourself “how much weight, and over what period of time?” Because yet again we see a vague and amorphous statement. This too does not have time bound to it and can also easily be delayed

The above all also suffer from possibly being irrelevant to the individual. Think of this as your why. Why do you want to achieve this goal? If we are just doing it to do it, well our dedication to the goal is slight at best and can easily be abandoned. So let us take this resolution and turn it into a SMART goal. 

First let us look at the VAPID resolution again: I’m going to get fit in 2024! I’ll go to the gym every day, eat healthy, and lose weight!

First WHY do we want to do this? Why is this important to us?

Let us imagine this individual has the following reason: I’ve noticed that my life is getting more and more sedentary, and I don’t like what that is doing to my overall health and wellness. I want to take time to focus on my health in 2024 to get back on track with my physical health. 

Okay so now our resolution is relevant to us! Let’s go about making it SMART. 

Specific: 

I would like to be living a healthier lifestyle through going to the gym and eating a heart healthy diet following the recommendation of the Mayo Clinic. I also hope to lose about five pounds over the course of the year.

Measurable: 

I will go to the gym two to three times a week for at least 30 minuets each time. I will work to change my diet a little each month by choosing one item or meal to replace with a more heart healthy alternative. I will track and record my weight every two weeks.

Achievable: 

I have the time and resources to make these changes.

Realistic: I’m going to go slowly and make gradual continual changes over a 12 month period. 

Time-Bound: 

I will make these changes over the next 12 months. 

The SMART goal is longer to write out; however, it is clear, and makes the goal achievable, and thus more likely to be followed! As we are now only a couple of weeks into the new year, look at your own relations, how are you doing with them? Is your resolution VAPID or SMART? If it is not SMART can you make it so? 

Recall these steps:

• Why is this resolution/goal relevant to you?

• Make it specific!

• How will you measure your progress, and how often?

• Take a look at your schedule, resources, and demands on your time, are you going to be able to dedicate the time and resources needed to achieve the resolution as you have defined above? If not, adjust your goals to be more realistic and achievable given your current situation.

• How much time do you want it to take to achieve your goal?

While using the above will not guarantee that you will stick to your resolution it will help increase the likelihood that you will, and if you fall off track you should have some helpful data for when you refine your goal for your next attempt! 

Measuring your progress along the way is going to be helpful with keeping you on track and we will look into different ways and programs you can use to track your progress in our next post!