2025, a new year full of new resolutions. Most often these have to do with some sort of self-improvement: picking up new hobbies, learning new skills, developing better, healthier habits. Whatever they may be, there are smart ways to achieve goals. Literally “smart.” Those in the helping professions like therapy, social work, and counseling use a S.M.A.R.T. framework when working with clients who want to change behaviors and tackle goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. In short, this means setting guidelines for your goals in order to make them more concrete, more precise, and therefore, more likely to be attained. By setting and using these parameters, clients and clinicians are able to achieve set objectives and make positive change.
To demonstrate this tactic, I will use one of the most popular (and relatable) New Year’s resolutions: to exercise more.
1. Specific: The first step in our goal-setting process is to specify our objective; get rid of any ambiguity or vagueness. The resolution “exercise more” is not entirely clear. What does this really mean? For each person, “exercise” and “more” can indicate something different. “Exercise” can vary depending on what it looks like to you. Is it hiking, swimming, running, or engaging in sports? In addition, “more” depends on how much you’re already exercising. And so it is imperative to specify. Therefore, what we would call our “goal statement” must change from the ambiguous “exercise more” to something more explicit like, “go to the gym every day.” Still, our goal statement can be specified further. Keeping this in mind, our resolution becomes, “I will lift weights and run for an hour every day.”
2. Measurable: The second step is to make sure our goal is measurable. This allows us to track and monitor progress on the path toward success. By doing so, we are able to analyze growth so that we can change tactics, adjust strategies, adapt, and hold ourselves accountable. It also serves as a motivator, allowing us to see the measurable progress we’re making and have already made. For the goal of exercising more, we could use personal records (the heaviest weights lifted/most repetitions done/fastest time) to track progress in the gym. Furthermore, we could monitor body fat percentage using tools like ingym body scans and observe progress as the percentage decreases. In fact, many gyms offer scans to new members for this exact reason. For our example, we will say that our current total body fat percentage is 30%. Now, taking measurability into account, the goal becomes, “lower body fat percentage from 30% to 20% by lifting weights and running for an hour every day.”
3 & 4. Achievable & Realistic: The third and fourth steps are similar and require us to make sure our goal is achievable and realistic, meaning the goals we set for ourselves are not overly ambitious. If we try to push ourselves too hard too fast, change will not be the end result, burnout will. Taking this into account, we modify our goal from working out every day to three days a week. The statement is now, “lower body fat percentage from 30% to 20% by lifting weights and running for an hour three days a week.”
5. Time-bound: The fifth and final step is to make sure our goals are time-bound. In any endeavor it is essential to establish deadlines and time-based benchmarks. Without incorporating time, it is easy for goals to become abstract and hard to measure. Setting a timeline inspires a sense of urgency and keeps us focused. Taking this final step into account, we can make our last modification to our 2025 goal statement: “In six months, I will lower my body fat percentage from 30% to 20% by lifting weights and running for an hour three days a week.”
Another simple, alternative way to achieve a final statement which incorporates all elements of S.M.A.R.T. goals is to fill in the blanks of the following prompt, “In the next (timeframe), I will (goal/ outcome). To achieve this I will (plan/ resources/knowledge/skills). I know this is possible because (strengths/past successes). I will know I’m progressing when (measurement tool/criteria).”
Now, with a final, ultra-specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timebound goal statement, our likelihood of actually achieving our goal has markedly improved. These parameters are not just for your 2025 resolutions, but can be applied to all goals. Whether you’re planning to retire or go on a vacation, specify your goal, make sure it is measurable so that you can track and adjust progress to stay disciplined and inspired, make sure they are achievable and realistic, and make sure to set yourself time limits so that you can check on your progress. By doing so, the road to achieve everything you set your mind to can be smarter, not harder. •
