Every year millions of people across the globe make a verbal
commitment to do things differently, or better, in the new year. These “things”
are commonly known as our New Year’s resolutions. The problem is that we don’t
typically put ourselves in a position to actually execute our goals
effectively. So here we will talk about 5 easy steps to turn resolutions into
results by using some real-life examples.
As we discuss these 5 steps I will be using two resolutions:
1. Objective: Losing weight and 2. Subjective: How to be happier. I do this
with the intention of being able to articulate the abstract because sometimes,
when we can’t necessarily “see” something we tend to become discouraged a little
more often and a little more quickly.
1. Be Specific. Losing weight is specific, yet vague.
How much do you want to lose? Is there a size you would like to fit into? Is
there an amount you want to lose per month? An overall amount you would like to
lose?
Part of being specific is knowing
yourself and knowing what you respond best to. If you are motivated to fit into
your favorite dress that’s been sitting in the back of the closet for the last
ten years then make that your goal. If you are motivated by seeing the physical
number drop on the scale then make that your goal.
What
specific looks like for weight loss: I want to hike 1x a week, play softball 1x
a week, and train 3x a week. I like numbers and check lists BUT I do not want to
become obsessed with a scale so I turn my numbers and check list into specific
actions.
Becoming happier is much more subjective,
so first you have to define for yourself what happiness is to YOU. This is YOUR
goal so you have to define it for yourself. Does happiness mean doing more
things? Smiling more? Getting out of bed more? Watching TV less? What does
happiness mean to you?
It’s important to define things for
yourself so that we can then talk about the next steps. Be flexible with
yourselves and give yourself permission to change the way you define things
throughout the year if you need to make some adjustments.
What
specific looks like for happiness: I am pretty in touch with my mood and my
thoughts so I can measure happiness by assessing my thought process. I want to
continue working on not taking things personally and living in the moment which
ultimately results in me being happier.
2. Make Your Goals Measurable. Being specific
allows us to then break our goals down in a way that we can measure our
actions.
Losing weight: This is easy. I
specified how often I wanted to engage in specific activities so I can measure
the outcomes by looking at whether or not I hit these numbers.
Happiness: I can track the times I
am taking things personally. I can track when I am not living in the moment. One
fun way to track this is by using a mood chart. A couple things happen when we
use a visual for something as subjective as happiness: 1. We become more
mindful of how we’re feeling and 2. We begin to put words to our moods and articulate
how we are feeling, which in turn helps us move through the tougher moods. You can
get as creative as you want with these trackers. (FYI: You can use this style
of tracking for sleep, studying, calorie intake, etc)
3. Make your goals Achievable! The worst thing we
could do is to set ourselves up for failure by setting unrealistic goals.
Losing Weight: Setting a goal to
lose 100 pounds in two months isn’t realistic, but losing 5-7 pounds in two
months is much more manageable. It’s important to know yourself. It’s better to
set the goal of losing 5-7 pounds and actually losing 10 compared to setting
the goal of losing 10 pounds and only losing 5. Achievable also has to be
sustainable otherwise you’ll either burn out or give up.
Happiness: Saying I’m going to be
happy everyday isn’t necessarily achievable. I would like to be happy at least
5 out of the 7 days of the week though and to me that’s realistic. If only 2
days a week is realistic then make that your goal and maybe by the end of the
year that number will go from 2 days a week to 4 days a week. Again I like working
with numbers so even in the worst of times I would like to be happy at least
25% of the time whether that means 6 hours a day or 1 week a month.
4. Make sure your goals are Relevant. If your goals
are not relevant it will be easy to dismiss them or put them aside for things
that carry more relevance.
Losing weight: If you are already
in great shape and health then maybe losing weight isn’t relevant. Or if you
are dealing with a specific concern: lack of activity, pre-diabetic, etc. then
consider focusing on not just “weight loss” but becoming more active or eating
healthier to reverse a prediabetic diagnosis. Sometimes our goals don’t need an
explanation on why they are relevant, just be sure that you know why this is
important and relevant to you.
Happiness: Unless you are already
happy a high majority of the time, focusing on increasing your happiness has
many health benefits, meaning, it will remain relevant!
5. Resolutions should be Time Based. This is
similar to measurable. The intention is that we want to see results in a timely
manner. Most people, when we don’t see results in a timely manner we get discouraged
and give up.
Losing Weight: If the overall goal
is to lose 100 pounds that’s great, but remembering that a “timely manner” also
has to be achievable. This is where breaking down the pounds by months becomes helpful. Again, I work well with numbers. If I believe losing 100 pounds in a
year is doable, I need to see what the average weight loss per month would be.
8.33 pounds per month for 12 months would allow me to hit that goal. If 8.33 pounds per month sounds reasonable
then 12 months would be considered a timely manner. If, however, 8.33 pounds
per month seems like a lot, then maybe 18 months becomes timelier.
This same idea also works in
reverse. If we are setting goals that are not timely because they will take too
long, we would want to break down the overall goal into something smaller to
make it more realistic. A good example of this is when I was working with someone
who wanted to buy a house in San Diego by next year but was working a minimum
wage job and was unable to save more than a couple hundred dollars a month.
This person then had 3 options: 1. Find an exceptionally higher paying job, 2.
Extend the timeline from trying to do it in one year to a 5-7-year plan or 3. Consider
relocating to a place outside of San Diego that is more affordable for their
price range. The most immediate goal, would be to find a better paying job,
even though the end goal is still to buy the house, the more realistic goal is
to increase their income. So you can use this same concept if you find yourself
with a resolution that might be a bit larger than what is realistic to work
with at the moment.
Happiness: Of course, we want to
see immediate results with happiness. The tough part is that we need to be
patient and work on implementing new habits that allow happiness to flow more
abundantly for us. We can talk about different strategies for increasing happiness
in a separate blog, but for the purposes of establishing a goal that is timely
we shouldn’t have a problem with establishing happiness in a timely manner. I
have yet to meet someone who consciously and purposefully remains unhappy.
If ever you forget these 5 easy steps,
you can google SMART Goals, click on images and find 1,000 friendly reminders
to help you get back on track! And remember, it’s never too late or too early
to re-evaluate and re-establish your goals! It’s ok to make adjustments, especially
if something isn’t working or if you found something that is more effective!
Additional resources: My favorite
resource is my Passion Planner that allows room on a semi-annually, monthly AND
weekly basis to write down my goals and stay on track. Additionally, I keep a
white board in my room that allows me to have easy access to writing down
things that come to mind. Don’t be afraid to use social media as a resource
also, I’m pretty sure there is a #Hashtag for that! And lastly, don't forget to have fun with it. Use color, make vision boards, join groups of like minded people and share even your smallest victories with your friends and family!
__________________________________________________Podcast:
12/26 Recap: Kahila's interview with COO, Robby Medina and Director of Development, Bernard Mauricia discuss the experiences and 2018 recap as well as all the exciting upcoming events taking place in 2019. Check them out using one of the various, easy to use platforms, by searching "Cancer the Easy Life":
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Upcoming Events:
1/9 Podcast
1/26 Get Well Soon Self Care Event (purchase tickets online: The Seany Foundation)
Ongiong: 35 & Thrive Event: Celebrate 35 years by raising funds for the 2019 CARES initiative and Seany's CR4TS
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