Be smart about your goals
Dr Tom Mulholland is an Emergency Department Doctor and GP with over 25 years’ experience in New Zealand. He’s currently a man on a mission, tackling health missions around the world.
As the year draws to a close many of us think of the new year, our dreams, hopes and aspirations. New Year’s resolutions are made and sometimes broken in a few short hours, days and weeks. Behavioural change can be difficult for some.
The best predictor of human behaviour is what we have done before. Leopards can change their spots but in my view having tools and techniques to facilitate behavioural change makes it easier.
If you are goal setting for 2018 are your goals Smart? If you haven’t heard this before, your goals are more likely to be achieved if they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Whether it’s saving more money, exercising more, drinking less alcohol, losing weight, spending more time with family, see if they are Smart. Try not to go like a bull at a gate and make radical changes that are not sustainable.
What’s important is what your weight or savings are like this time next year and the ones following. Many people don’t reach their goals as they aren’t realistic or timely. Writing goals down has been shown to be more effective than just thinking them. Sharing them with others can help as it can make you accountable.
In my view wellbeing is made of three major components, physical, mental and social wellness. Picking an aspect of each of these to improve in 2018 will improve your overall wellbeing score. If you measure it, you can manage it.
For example, waist circumference is a good predictor of wellbeing. It’s Specific and Measurable. Improving it over Christmas may not be Attainable, Realistic or Timely. Unlike weight, waist circumference doesn’t bounce around over days depending on how much fluid you have on board.
Just a simple behavioural change, like cutting down on desserts, may improve waist circumference over months. Your pants will be a bit looser and your belt may come in a few notches.
Reducing stress is another common New Year’s resolution. There are a multitude of ways of measuring stress and managing it which I will cover in next week’s article. Stress can be selfimposed, like having too much pressure and too many goals! In my 15 years of coaching in a corporate environment the lists some people make are not realistic or achievable.
Identifying stressful triggers and ways to manage them is a good start.
There are also many measures of social wellbeing. Being connected with family and friends is one of them. So, a Smart goal may be to email, call or social media contact one of your friends or family on a weekly basis. Just to check in and see how they are.
Often, we will message people if we want or need something. Sometimes people just need to know that someone cares about them and your message may improve your wellbeing and theirs.
A new year brings new challenges and new opportunities. How you deal with them is as important as what they are. Getting into a habit of measuring your wellbeing will mean you have tools to manage it. Like many other things in your life, you have systems and techniques for measuring and managing them.
I wish you a safe and prosperous 2018 and look forward to giving more tips to keep you well and good.