SMART Goals

In my last post, I talked about total wellness. In this post, we're going to focus on physical wellness and the best ways to achieve it.

The best way to gain physical wellness is to set...

Total wellness is the foundation and set up for your life, and one of the most important aspects of total wellness is physical wellness. The Better Health Channel says that having physical wellness can, “reduce your risk of a heart attack, manage your weight better, have a lower blood cholesterol level, lower the risk of type 2 diabetes and some cancers, have lower blood pressure, have stronger bones, muscles and joints and lower risk of developing osteoporosis, lower your risk of falls, recover better from periods of hospitalization or bed rest, feel better – with more energy, a better mood, feel more relaxed and sleep better.” As you can see, physical wellness has many benefits, and In order to accomplish physical wellness, it’s often wise to set goals. However, people often make crucial mistakes when they write goals, which sometimes makes it much more difficult to follow the goal or even understand what exactly the goal is. By following SMART goals, you will have the most efficient and effective goals to obtain physical wellness.

Specific: It’s very difficult to follow vague goals, such as, “I will lose weight.” If you make your goals as specific as possible, they will be much easier to accomplish and understand. For example, instead of, “I will lose weight.” The goal could be, “I will lose 10 pounds over the next six months by exercising for 20 minutes daily and only eating sweets or sugars once a week.” Notice how I also made this goal…

Measurable: A measurable goal is essentially a goal that has a point or number that you are going to try to get to. For example, if I just said, “I will exercise.” Then I don’t really have a set standard or finish line in mind. Exercise could be just about anything. I could say I exercised because I walked to the pizza and soda on the table. However, if I say, “I will exercise for 20 minutes every other day,” then that is a measurable goal that has a set number in mind that I need to reach. However, you also want to make sure that your measurements are…

Achievable: If your goals not achievable, then what’s the point of having it? You need to make sure that you can actually accomplish a goal before you aim for it. I can’t lose 50 pounds in two weeks: it’s just not physically possible, so before making a goal, make sure it is achievable, but also make sure it is…

Relevant: Make sure that your goal is actually important to you, because if it isn’t, it will be much more difficult to become motivated, so make sure you’re goal fits you. For example, I wouldn’t set a goal saying, “I will join a soccer team to get more exercise,” because I’m personally not interested in playing soccer. However, what’s just as important as making the goal relevant to you is making the goal…

T ime-bound: Deadlines always help accomplish a goal. Because of a deadline, my mother woke up at 4:00 AM every day to work on a youtube video, so deadlines are a huge motivation. It’s always good to make a deadline on your goals. For example, a good deadline would be, “I will lose 5 pounds by August 21st.”

By combining these guidelines, you will have effective goals that will help you and guide you to get what you want.

Works Cited:

“Compass, Map, Direction, Degrees, North, East, South, West, Vintage, Old, Adventure.” Pikist, Pikist, www.pikist.com/free-photo-vkobb.

Department of Health & Human Services. “Physical Activity - It's Important.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human Services, 9 July 2012, www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/physical-activity-its-important.

“Module 1 Lesson 1: Introduction to Wellness.” CCSD Canvas - Instructure, Nevada Learning . Academy at CCSD, ccsd.instructure.com/courses/1361621/pages/m1-lesson-1- . introduction-to- wellness?module_item_id=15747257.