Thursday, December 29, 2011

Get SMARTER in 2012

What if we were to loosen our grip on the word "Resolution" this year in favor of a new concept that actually stands to get us results? Introducing: SMARTER goals.

Yes these goals are intelligent - they include the plan in place to accomplish the desired outcome. What are SMARTER goals?

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Trackable/Time-Sensitive
Evaluate
Reevaluate

It's the difference between saying "I'm going to lose 15 pounds by summer" and saying:
"I'm going to lose 1/2 a pound a week by cutting out sweets at night and adding 2 3-mile runs to my routine each week between now and June 1st."

And the difference one month from now in saying "Only one pound! This isn't worth it! Where's the ice cream?!" and saying, "4 weeks and I'm down one pound instead of two. Do I need to start tracking what I'm eating to make sure I'm burning more calories than I'm consuming each week?"

Grab a friend this week and discuss your SMARTER goals. Evaluate together. Reevaluate together. And don't forget to pick out for yourselves some rewards!