Be S.M.A.R.T.

"I want to lose 50 pounds in a week."

"I want to learn and be fluent in a new language."

"I want to ___________."

We all have goals. Well, we all should have goals. They give us direction in where we want to go with what we want to do. Starting the new year, I'm sure 90% of you have thought about goals you want to achieve for this new year. Your goals could be in relevance to your job, hobbies, lifestyle... anything! What most people don't realize is that there needs to be a beginning, a middle, and an end with your goals. If you don't have a beginning, you won't know where to start. If you don't have a middle, you won't know how to get to the end. The end is the most important part - the end influences where we start and how we get there.

Let's break this down with specific examples, but before we do that. Let's talk about being S.M.A.R.T.!

S - Specific

M - Measurable

A - Attainable

R - Relevant

T - Time Bound

From our examples above, "I want to lose 50 pounds in a week." Is it specific? Yes, "losing 50 pounds". Measurable? Yes, "50 pounds". Attainable? Yes. Depending on whether or not you actually have room to lose 50 pounds, losing 50 pounds is attainable! Relevant? Sure! Anyone should be concerned about their health and fitness! Time bound? No. In a week is not attainable. The only issue would be the time bound piece. Make that a yearly goal, and break it down to smaller goals of 2 pounds a week.

The other example of "I want to learn and be fluent in a new language." That's a great goal! But its not specific. What language do you want to learn? There are certainly ways to measure that goal. It is certainly attainable, relevant and time bound.

Here's a great example of being S.M.A.R.T.:

"I want to save up $6,000 for a trip to Disney World in 2020."

This is a S.M.A.R.T. goal. Specific? "Saving $6,000 for a trip to disney in 2020." Measurable? "$6,000." Attainable? Yes. Relevant? If that's what you want to do for your family, yes. Time bound? Yes, by "2020."

Now that we have a better understanding of the acronym S.M.A.R.T., we can break down the goal of "I want to lose 50 pounds in a year" and dissect it a little bit. Let's start with the end, you want to lose 50 pounds in a year. Well, ok, 50 pounds is doable! In a year, with the right mindset, self-control, and guidance, it's definitely doable. Though, I want to look even further into the future; let's look 5 years into the future. Is the overall goal to be 50 pounds lighter? Is the overall goal to be 70 pounds lighter? Now, with that in mind, what's a more realistic expectation for losing weight in a year? Is it still 50 pounds? If it is, let's create smaller goals to help us get there. Start with monthly goals. If you want to lose 50 pounds in a year, that means you need to lose just over 4 pounds a month. Breaking that down even further, that's just under 1 pound a week! How doable is that!! Now that you see if you break things down, they don't seem as bad! Now, how do you lose that weight? The answer is as simple as proper nutrition and exercise. Again, with proper guidance, you can accomplish your goals!

For the Kazamily members, use this template for your yearly goals you're going to put on the whiteboard! Fill in the blanks with anything, your first pull-up, rope climb; and from there, let's create smaller goals to get you there!