A SMART health goal is one that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Why do these things matter? Reaching any goal is like planning a trip; you have to know your destination in order to know what path to take to get there. And you really have to want to end up there! These things all help with motivation to reach your goal.
When asked what their health goals are, most people will give a very general idea. Something along the lines of “I’d like to lose some weight”, or “I just want to feel better”. Statements like these don’t really define what a person actually wants, or why. More clarity will help those goals be more meaningful. So setting a SMART goal is the first step to actually reaching your health goal.
Great leaders never accomplished anything without first having a clear vision of where they were going. That’s why most companies create vision or mission statements. It helps everyone on the team to know exactly what they’re trying to accomplish and the steps they need to take to get there.
So let’s break this down and start by explaining the elements of the SMART goal-setting process. Then I’ll give you some of my own best strategies for achieving your goal.
Choose a SMART health goal
A health goal is the same as any other goal; it’s your vision of your ideal future. It helps you to know where to begin and keeps you focused on the right path to get there. This is why you need to be very clear about what you want to achieve. Here’s a breakdown of the SMART goal acronym.
Specific
Be specific with your goal. If you want to lose weight, then decide how much weight or what size you want to be. If you want to “get healthy” then specify what exactly that will look like for you. Does it mean eating a certain way like cutting out junk foods, or consuming a certain number of fruits and veggies every day? Narrow it down specifically.
Measurable
Your goal should be something that can be measured. Again, if it’s a certain weight, that’s an easy measurement. If your goal is “health” then you need to decide what that means to you. For me, “healthy” means exercising at least 5 days a week along with a diet of about 80% whole plant foods. For you, maybe it means getting your blood pressure or cholesterol into a healthy range.
Related article: Track your exercise progress for more motivation.
Attainable
This means that your goal should be something that you can actually achieve. In other words, it needs to be realistic and manageable for you. For example, I’m not going to give up sugar forever so I don’t see the point in doing it short-term. It’s more attainable for me to cut back to just one small dessert each day. Or substitute certain items for healthier ones.
Relevant
Relevance refers to the importance of the goal to you, NOT somebody else. If your doctor suggests you do something that you don’t want to do, then you won’t do it. The same goes for your spouse wanting you to make changes that you’re not interested in making. If it’s not important to you first and foremost, then you won’t be committed.
Time-bound
Your goal needs to have an end date or a time limit. Admit it, we all need deadlines in order to get things done! If you leave this open-ended then you’ll keep putting off the work it takes to reach the goal. One way to do this is to sign up for a competition of some sort, like a race if you think running might be fun.
But you need to be realistic about this too. If your deadline is 3 months but that leaves no room for error, then maybe 6 months is a better timeline. You’ll get burnt out trying to do things perfectly all the time in order to reach your goal quickly! As Winston Churchill intelligently said:
“Perfection is the enemy of progress”.
Strategies to help you reach your health goal
We all need strategies to help us achieve our goals and the following are some that I found really helped me change my habits for the better.
Write it down
After defining your very SMART health goal, the next step is to physically write it down. I usually tell my clients to write it on an index card and tape it to their bathroom mirror. Then they see it every morning and have to think about it for at least a few seconds. If you have a higher-tech way of doing this then go for it!
The point is to keep your health goal at the forefront of your mind at all times. I also recommend spending a couple of minutes every day visualizing your life once you’ve reached your goal. Tony Robbins has spent his life teaching others how to reach their true potential and he recommends that you visualize your goals.
Form mini-goals
Your SMART health goal is basically the long-term dream for your life. But it can be a little daunting to think about getting from where you are right now to that place. That’s why you need to break that goal down into “mini-goals” or baby steps. Each mini-goal is a small action that will help point you in the right direction and get you closer to your health goal.
So think about categories. What can you do nutritionally this week to point you in the right direction? What can you do physically to get stronger and burn more calories? Could you get more sleep or lower your stress? Think small with these goals. Trying to do everything at once is generally a recipe for failure!
Examples of nutrition goals
Years ago I wanted to change my eating habits to reflect my own health goal. I started by reading labels so I could be aware of what was in my food. This helped me to make better choices when it came to packaged foods. Then I started swapping out my junky drinks and snacks for healthier options.
After that, I started looking for healthy recipes that both my husband and I liked. I started with our breakfast foods by adding in fruits and veggies and taking out the processed sugars. Then I moved on to healthier lunch options that we were each happy with. Then dinners. One meal at a time.
With every new recipe I found, I got rid of an old one that was not so healthy. Eventually, I completely transformed our eating habits and my entire stash of recipes. And because I did it in baby steps, it was an easier transition for both my husband and me!
Related article: Tips for a healthier diet. #6 – GBOMBS.
Reaching your health goal is a much easier process when you use baby steps. You just keep making little changes until you feel like your habits are in alignment with your long-term values and goals.
Examples of fitness goals
It works the same with exercise. You don’t go from not exercising at all to working out hard for 45 minutes every day! You start with 10 or 15 minutes of just walking or some other low-intensity exercise. Then over time, you work your way up to 30 minutes. Then you can find another form of exercise to try for variety and to use different muscles.
Keep adding things in until you have a fully balanced workout program to follow. If you want new habits to last, don’t burn yourself out right away by overdoing it. Besides, each little achievement helps to build your confidence so you feel ready to take the next step toward reaching your health goal.
I would also suggest writing down each workout you do on a calendar. It will help with accountability by seeing what you’ve done each month. It also helps you remember what you should be doing for a workout each day. It’s easier than you think to forget what you did the day before!
Reward yourself often
Celebrating your accomplishments is an important way to keep yourself motivated and feeling positive about your health goals. It’s been found that “immediate rewards are more strongly associated with actual persistence in a long-term goal”.
Rewarding yourself for each mini-goal you achieve will help reinforce its value and importance. And you’ll be enjoying the journey more! So buy yourself some new workout wear, or treat yourself to a massage or a pedicure. Just make sure your rewards are also healthy! But anything positive is a great way to remind yourself that you’re doing a good job.
Eventually, I hope you learn that the reward can be the activity itself. Exercise produces feel-good endorphins and is a time for you to focus on yourself. It can be really fun to try a new exercise or dance class and learn something new! And eating well is a treat when you find that fabulous new recipe (or restaurant) that you love.
Value yourself
I know too many women who say they “can’t” take the time for exercise every day because they’re “too busy”. Apparently, even a simple walk is too time-consuming. But they want to be in better shape and look and feel better. So if you’re one of those women, my question is “are all those other things more important than your health?”. You have to make time for your well-being.
Why is your self-care so much less important than everything and everyone else in your life? If half an hour a day is too much time to take for your own health goals then what does that say about how much you value yourself?
We say that we love ourselves but the way we treat our bodies doesn’t always reflect that. Most of the time we would rather take care of someone else than our own health. But remember that if you don’t take care of yourself you’ll eventually be unable to care for anyone else.
Make the time to do something good for yourself every day by caring for your body. And remember that it’s as much about your mental health as it is about your physical health.
My final thoughts
Having a SMART health goal is like having a compass to keep you headed in the right direction and motivated. But it’s just the start. Once you get very clear on what you want then you need to break it down into smaller, more achievable goals.
Every mini-goal you meet is a small victory that will help motivate you to keep working. Those hurdles boost your confidence so you know you can persist over the long term. And rewarding yourself for all those accomplishments makes the whole process more fun!
Remember that once you set that SMART goal it’s ok to modify it as you learn and experience new things. Nothing is set in stone and life changes constantly so goals can change too. We just need to keep challenging ourselves to reach for more. You have one life to live so make it a healthy one!
Do you have a health goal you want to reach? Share about it in the comments below and let me know what your strategies are for reaching it!