Every year on the 1st January 1,000 people set their new year’s resolutions. How they are going to be ‘healthier’, more productive, make time for the things they enjoy, finally get fit into that old pair of jeans, spend more time with family. the list is endless.

The problem with ‘Resolutions’ is firstly, resolution is such an ambiguous term. It represents an intention, at best a firm decision, but doesn’t set about defining steps of action to go about making a change in circumstances or behavior.

Hence by January 3, or 4th, or at best the end of the first week, most of these resolutions have been broken. Goal setting on the other hand, is an actionable set of tasks, with defined steps to help determine a desired outcome.

Now I know there is a lot of people out there who glaze over completely at the mention of goal setting, but stay with me for a minute.

Like anything, goal setting is only as effective as the way you apply it! You need to make the process of goal setting work for you. Goal setting without defined steps is just a resolution.

If you are going to set goals you need to do it right, and that means S.M.A.R.T.

Being specific about what it is you desire means you have a clear picture about the actionable steps needed to achieve that reality. This creates a set of processes which can be carried out, thus achieving the desired result.

The other problem with ‘resolutions’ is they rely purely on a motivational aspect. As we know motivation is also derived by emotion and often resolutions originate from an external motivation.

Let take weight loss for example, your new years resolution may be “I want to lose 10kg”

This is driven by the emotion of what losing the weight will achieve for you (self-confidence, greater self-esteem, better health, new partner, more fun). Without a clear process of how to achieve this resolution, you rely heavily on the ability for your willpower to hold out the next time you go to the supermarket, or go out for dinner, or have a stressful day at work and want to skip the gym.

You are creating undue pressure on yourself, and will probably beat yourself when you ultimately fail to maintain this pressure long term.

Now if this was re-framed as a goal using the SMART goal principles, this is what we get:

S: I would like to lose 10kg of body fat around the abdomen by the end of January

M: I will complete a body composition at the beginning and end of January

A: I have booked my scans, joined a gym and spoken to a nutritionist.

R: My weight loss accounts for 0.5-1kg per week which is within the recommended guidelines

Being specific about what it is you desire means you have a clear picture about the actionable steps needed to achieve that reality. This creates a set of processes which can be carried out, thus achieving the desired result.

The other problem with ‘resolutions’ is they rely purely on a motivational aspect. As we know motivation is also derived by emotion and often resolutions originate from an external motivation.

Let take weight loss for example, your new years resolution may be “I want to lose 10kg”

This is driven by the emotion of what losing the weight will achieve for you (self-confidence, greater self-esteem, better health, new partner, more fun). Without a clear process of how to achieve this resolution, you rely heavily on the ability for your willpower to hold out the next time you go to the supermarket, or go out for dinner, or have a stressful day at work and want to skip the gym.

You are creating undue pressure on yourself, and will probably beat yourself when you ultimately fail to maintain this pressure long term.

Now if this was re-framed as a goal using the SMART goal principles, this is what we get:

S: I would like to lose 10kg of body fat around the abdomen by the end of January

M: I will complete a body composition at the beginning and end of January

A: I have booked my scans, joined a gym and spoken to a nutritionist.

R: My weight loss accounts for 0.5-1kg per week which is within the recommended guidelines

T: I will achieve this goal by the end of January