We all say we want to make changes in our lives, but do we have a plan to make that happen? Too many of us have great intentions but don’t know how to follow through. So how do you create real, lasting change?
- Set goals the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. way. You can’t make changes if you don’t know what you want to change, after all. After figuring out what you want to do (get healthier, find a new job, save money), turn them into S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals. This means they are specific, meaningful, achievable, relevant and time-bound. The last two letters involve evaluating and readjusting as needed. So instead of saying you want to lose weight, you decide you want to:
- Lose 15 pounds (S)
- To lower your cholesterol (M)
- By following a healthy, doctor-approved diet (A)
- So you can be with your family longer (R)
- Over the course of the next ten months (T)
You then Evaluate daily or weekly and Readjust as needed.
- Make smaller goals. Within your overall goal, set mini-goals you can reach daily or weekly. For example, Weight Watchers members track their food intake daily and go to weekly meetings, setting a goal of losing half a pound a week (or at least not gaining). Small, daily goals allow someone to have reachable little milestones. This helps a person feel like hitting those daily goals and gets them closer to the big goal because they can see daily success. Instead of looking at a goal months in the distance, they can make a little progress every day.
- Track them! It may seem obvious, but the simple act of writing down all those goals makes it all seem more real. And it helps with those daily goals when you take five minutes every morning to write down your plan for the day and five minutes at night to see how you did. Going back to Weight Watchers, members have trackers they write down all meals and exercise in. By doing this daily, they can see patterns, evaluate and readjust as needed.
If you really want to make changes in your life, you need to start with an overall goal and then break it down into manageable steps. Doing this will allow your small successes to all build into a big one at the end. For help with any of your career goals, work with the medical staffing experts at Medical Professionals.
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