This post may contain affiliate links; please see our disclaimer for details.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals has been a powerful first step towards improving my health.
Simply put, the purpose of a S.M.A.R.T. goal is to give oneself a clear picture of what the goal is, how it will be achieved, and when it must be completed.
While explaining each aspect of the S.M.A.R.T. goal system below, I will add my personal experience on my own S.M.A.R.T. health goal I set in the past AND achieved!
Remember, it’s okay to work on each part of the S.M.A.R.T. goal system simultaneously. These goals can be applied to personal finance or any category in life! Check out the empowering reward section to see how my goal helped me save money.
What does SMART stand for?
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
Before creating a S.M.A.R.T. goal, write down your day-to-day schedule so you are aware of any time constraints or conflicts.
I’ve found it helpful to create both long-term and short-term S.M.A.R.T. goals.
In this article, I will walk through how I created my long-term S.M.A.R.T. goal. It started as a vague goal of me wanting to lose weight but turned into an empowering S.M.A.R.T. health goal.
How to make your health goal SPECIFIC
Take some time to create a clear mental image of what goal you want to accomplish and how you can accomplish it, then write it down in detail.
Make sure the details are crystal clear with no room for misinterpretation.
Try to not be too vague, such as “I will eat healthier”.
My experience: To make my goal specific, I added that I wanted to lose 35 pounds and do intermittent fasting, have a low-calorie diet, and exercise.
How to make your health goal MEASURABLE
Make your health goal measurable by adding metrics to the HOW you will achieve the goal.
Breaking up a large goal into smaller milestones is also very helpful.
My experience: I made my HOW more measurable by choosing 10 am – 6 pm for my intermittent fasting routine. I added the metric of 2,000 or fewer calories a day and added 20 minutes a day of exercise.
The underlined portion from the paragraph above depicts how I was able to make my HOW measurable.
By making goals measurable you will know 100% whether you fully hit the goal or not.
How to make your health goal ATTAINABLE
A goal is attainable when it can be reached on or before a certain deadline.
The biggest recommendation I can give is to start where you are at.
Add flexibility to your goal as well so it is not too difficult to complete, prepare for the unexpected.
Take some time to write down your day-to-day schedule with any potential barriers or challenges you may need to overcome. Doing so will help you become aware of any time constraints and mentally prepare to overcome barriers.
My experience: At first I wanted a more intense intermittent fasting schedule by only having a 4-hour eating window. I quickly realized that was not realistic so I changed the schedule to 10 am to 6 pm.
I wanted to do 1,500 calories a day as my calorie consumption metric but instead changed the limit to 2,000 or less so it would not be too difficult to accomplish.
For exercise, I had tried many times to work out for 45+ minutes but kept failing. I needed to start where I was at so I decided on 20 minutes of exercise, 3 days a week.
Later on, I increased my workout time and frequency to where I was able to work out for 45 minutes, 4-5 days a week.
How to make your health goal RELEVANT
A relevant goal means that each aspect of the goal aligns with your purpose and enhances your sense of worth.
Begin with the end in mind, and make sure the goal doesn’t put off other priorities or create an imbalance in life.
My experience: My S.M.A.R.T. health goal was relevant because it would help me complete my life purpose by living a long and healthy life.
Going back to the realistic portion of the S.M.A.R.T. goal system, I made sure my goal was attainable and did not take away from other important aspects of my life.
How to make your health goal TIME-BOUND
Adding an end date or deadline will make your goal time-bound.
There are many ways to stay accountable to the deadline, try finding one that keeps you motivated.
My experience: I used HealthyWage to help me create a deadline for my goal and stay accountable. I also bet money to lose weight which is really cool and motivating to me.
By using their app, I was able to track how much weight I had lost and know what weight I should be at each week so I do not fall behind. If you’re interested in learning more click here and get $40 automatically added to your prize! – Start your HealthyWager today and get paid for losing weight.
Find an Empowering Reward
Don’t just have a WHY to achieving your goal, have an empowering reward.
An empowering reward should be something real that is felt or seen upon completing your S.M.A.R.T. health goal.
Be specific when thinking about and writing down your empowering reward. Make sure it instills an intense positive emotion when thinking about it.
Completing a triathlon was one of my empowering rewards. The sense of accomplishment and how I would feel when completing the triathlon was a motivating force to keep me going.
Honestly, another compelling reward was the fact that I wouldn’t be spending as much money on junk food. I loved eating unhealthy and spent way too much money eating out and on snack items. Getting healthy ended up going a long way to helping us save money.
Visualize your empowering reward frequently. It should fill you with a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
Another empowering reward for me was thinking about how I would feel when I lost 35 pounds – clothes would fit better, I would be more confident, energetic, happy, better looking, etc.
Lastly, I highly recommend putting your empowering reward somewhere you can see it often.
Conclusion
Here is the long-term health goal I created using the S.M.A.R.T. goal system- “Lose 35 pounds in 6 months by intermittent fasting from 10 am – 6 pm, consuming 2,000 or fewer calories, and exercise 20min, x3 a week”.
This goal of mine later evolved into longer exercise times and more frequently exercising as I progressed closer to my triathlon date and weight loss deadline.
Take time to really think about each of the S.M.A.R.T. goal system when creating your health goals. Also, don’t forget to create an empowering reward!
When making any health changes, please search multiple sources and consult with a doctor or health professional. The information found in this post comes from my own personal experiences and may need to be adjusted for someone else.
For more inspiration on how to achieve your goals in 2022, please check out this other article I made: How to Set and Achieve Health Goals in 2022.
Thank you for reading! Please drop a comment or question below!
Disclaimer
The content on this blog includes our personal experiences and opinions in regard to pursuing a healthier lifestyle. We hope the information provides valuable insights to every reader but we are not health advisors. When making your health choices, we recommend researching multiple sources and/or receiving advice from a doctor or licensed health professional.
