SMART New Year Resolutions

Here we are in the first day of 2009! Time to reflect on how things went in the past year and make a few more resolutions for the new year.
Ever set too many resolutions with unrealistic goals that you never fulfill them that you gave up? “Ah! What the heck, it will never happen the way I wanted!” Sound familiar? It is to me!

Anything you wanted serious must be translatable into serious action. I read somewhere that you need to be SMART when setting New Year goals. It is based on the acronym and is a useful tool for evaluating and fulfilling promises

Be:
Specific: Vague or ambiguous goals are no use. Instead of saying “I want to lose weight” you need to be specific – for example,”I want to lose 7 lbs”;

Measurable: Work out how you are going to measure your success. So instead of saying I want to improve my health, set a measurable target – lowering blood pressure through diet and exercise under physician supervision;

Attainable: Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting goals that are too difficult. Set a goal or goals that are challenging but not unattainable;

Relevant: Goals should be relevant for you and not be made for other people or to meet social expectations;

Time-limited: Set a date so you will know when you should have reached your goal. Don’t set this too far in the future; otherwise it won’t be any motivation.