Most of my goals pertain to running and aiming at an overall slightly better lifestyle. I say slightly only because I know I’m not going to start eating only squash spaghetti and quinoa overnight – BUT it’s a progressive step I’d like to make. So with your goals, remember to be SMART. You may or may not have heard of the SMART method, and for once, I plan on incorporating it into my goal-setting for this year.
Specific – You should spell out exactly what you want to accomplish. Not just “I want to lose weight” but “I want to lose 12 pounds.” Because if you said “I want to lose weight,” and then lost a pound… would you really be satisfied?
Measurable - Easy enough to explain. If weight loss is your goal, maybe that 12-pound loss will allow you to fit in that size-10 dress you bought three years ago and have lusted over since. That’s measurable!
Attainable – Make your goal possible; not saying you want to doubt your abilities, but don’t make it too easy, either, so you know you’re putting your best effort out there. Attainable goals should be reachable, but also motivating, challenging, and something that you know you can reach.
Realistic - Also pretty self-explanatory. Realistic goals will fit in line with your current abilities and your lifestyle. As I said above, while I want to start eating healthier overall, I’m not going to get rid of all my dry pastas overnight and switch to eating only squash spaghetti. So unrealistic, it’s not even funny!
Time-Based – Give yourself a timeline to follow. This time of year, we all generally say “My 2013 resolution is…” assuming you’ve then given yourself until December 31, 2013. Awesome time frame, and sometimes you really can/need that whole year. Perhaps for a weight loss goal, you can break that into steps: 4 pounds by March 31, 4 more pounds by August 31, and the last 4 by December 31.
Goals for 2013
I set quite a few goals for 2012 – not using the SMART method, mind you, and in hindsight, a large number of them were neither realistic nor attainable. You live, you learn. With that, I’m thinking SMART and sharing with you some of my fitness/health goals for 2013. I’ll have more life goals posted on my blog later this month, but I wanted to share a few to get started!
- Run a sub-26:00 5K – my current PR is 27:19, so this will take quite a bit of work and speed attention. With the speedwork I’ve recently started regularly incorporating into my training, I feel this is certainly attainable.
- Run a sub-2 hour half marathon – This is my big goal, and the one I’d like to focus on most, truthfully. 2012 will close out with having run 7 half marathons, the last coming on December 26. My PR currently stands (from December 1) at 2:09:10, which means I need to cut nearly 45 seconds off each mile. Challenging, yes. Do-able? I think so!
Current half marathon PR – at half marathon #6, December 1, 2012 at the Inaugural Walton County Half Marathon in Monroe, GA. I also paced a woman to a 5-minute PR for her. Amazing morning overall!
- Meatless Monday – I set this as a goal for 2012 and forgot about it by at least mid-February. I’m going to set this up in some increments, in hopes of making it more of a habit: one Meatless Monday per month through March. Beginning in April, every other week. And by August, would like to ensure that I am regularly participating in Meatless Monday.
What are your goals for 2013? Are you finding them to be SMART? What will be your biggest challenging in obtaining these goals?
Happy Holidays to you all!
I loooooooove Megan!! Such great tips for goal setting. I haven’t heard of the SMART method but it totally makes sense.