RESOLVE TO KEEP YOUR RESOLUTIONS

These five tips can help you achieve your goals in 2022

New Year’s Eve is here and with it comes the annual pressure to make an aspirational resolution or two that aren’t always easy to keep. But what if there was a way to ensure your goals for 2022 are actually met? There is. By applying a 40-year old approach that first appeared in a business journal, you may just be able to conquer 2022!

In 1981, Management Review, a research-based publication for business executives, featured a paper by George T. Doran called “There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives.” It explored the importance of objectives and the difficulty of setting them.

By applying the acronym, S.M.A.R.T., mentioned in the paper, you’ll be a step closer to selecting and keeping your New Year’s resolutions. It’s easy…

• Specific Make your resolution(s) unequivocally clear. Instead of saying “I want to lose weight,” provide an actual figure, such as “I want to lose 10 pounds. And go a step further by adding a time frame to help hold yourself accountable.

• Measurable Log your progress whether it be with a scale or photos. There are practically hundreds of apps designed to help you track behaviors that can be useful, too.

• Achievable Avoid trying to boil the ocean. Deciding you want to run a marathon in two months if you’ve never run before seems unlikely. However, building up to a half-marathon in six months may be more attainable.

• Relevant Resolutions that seek to improve your health, community or career will probably be more meaningful to you and more realistically met because of the personal connection.

• Time-bound Give yourself enough time to achieve your goals. Develop a true-to-life timeline that takes other, real-world responsibilities into account, to help you reach your goals.

Give some thought to your 2022 resolutions and don’t be too hard on yourself to achieve real results. Happy New Year!