By Mandy Kendall

The end of the year is not that far away. Before we descend into the chaos that can occur around Christmas, this can be a good time to reflect on what has happened in the last 12 months. Once we’ve reflected on what’s happened, we often turn to what might be in the future.

Resolutions are often made last minute and are sometimes not that well thought through, which may explain why so many of them are never achieved.

Mandy Kendall

So whether you decide to call them resolutions, goals or plans, a little forward thinking can often make for a more successful New Year.

SMART is a well used acronym used in setting business goals which can be also be used for planning changes in your personal life too.

So here are a few Qwik-e tips to help start your New Year off on the right foot.

Specific — Rather than just say “I want to be healthier”, try to be specific about what you are going to do to be healthier. Asking yourself the what, why, who and where questions will usually get you all the answers you need.

Measurable — Having something quantifiable about your goal will make tracking your progress much easier. If you make a promise to yourself that you will do a certain amount of something (or stop doing a certain amount of something), you are definitely going to be able to tell if you’ve reached your target or not.

Achievable — I know there is a saying “Never say never”, but you should be honest with yourself as to whether you can truly achieve your goal. If your goal stretches you too far, you may find it too disheartening to contemplate, let alone achieve.

Realistic/relevant/resonant — Do you have the resources (time, support, and most important, the desire) you need to achieve this? Is this the right time to try to do this? Is it something that you are passionate about? If you can’t say yes to all of these, you might need to re-evaluate where you are trying to get to, and why.

Time — Setting a time frame for a goal is important. It not only helps in planning the steps needed but also gives the task a sense of urgency. Have you given yourself the right amount of time to do this? Can you set aside the time that is needed to reach your goal?

Some also like to add a couple of other steps to the goal planning process to make it SMARTER

Evaluate — With the strategies above in place, it is important to evaluate along the way to make sure you are on track. This gives you the ability to make adjustments before you get too far off track. I also like to think of this one as “enjoy” too. It’s important that this is fun to keep that motivation going.

Reward — My favorite part. You’ve set your goal, planned all the steps, evaluated your progress and achieved your goal. Now you get the reward. You deserve it! Then you get to start all over again on a whole new goal if you like.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe, which aligns wellness seekers with their ideal wellness provider. If you have questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and well-being topic, drop her an email at connect@healthconnective.com or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.