Goal Setting, Part 2: Aim, Process, Minimum

Yesterday we talked about where we are and where we want to go.  Now it’s time to get to the actual goals.

One way to structure goals is to make SMART goals.  That is, goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.  Instead of saying “I want to lose weight,” which is definitely a goal, we might say, “I want to lose ten pounds in the next two months.”

 

While a lot of people love SMART goals, I have a few issues with them.  For one thing, when we’re just starting out with fitness, we have no idea what is achievable or realistic in any particular time frame.  How many magazine headlines have we all seen in the grocery store offering us fifty pounds of weight loss in a month?  Maybe it’s twenty pounds in two weeks, or thirty by swimsuit season or whatever.  We don’t generally know what is sustainable and healthy.  (Note:  healthy, sustainable weight loss is generally one to two pounds per week, but some of us lose faster than others.)  My other big issue is that SMART goals say absolutely nothing about how.  Great!  I want to lose ten pounds and I know when I want it done, but how the heck am I supposed to do it?

 

I am a fan of process goals.  Process goals take a quick look at the direction we want to go and then drill down on how.  If, as in my example above, I want to lose ten pounds, I keep that aim in my mind and make some process goals like “I am going to do 30 minutes of cardio on five days this week to burn some calories” or “I am going to stop eating chocolate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”  Process goals give us something to do rather than something to aim for.

 

That said, we might have to do some experimenting.  I may discover that 30 minutes of cardio isn’t enough, or that replacing chocolate with vanilla ice cream doesn’t actually improve the situation.  Or I may learn that after one day of cardio, I’m so exhausted that I can’t get off the couch for three days.  That is all right.  We are learning.  We are growing.  We are allowed to modify.

 

Which brings me to my final comment on goal setting.  I believe in stupidly easy goals, especially when we are starting our fitness journey or are starting to incorporate something new into our routines.  Our first goal is to build the habit of success and we do that by making it as painless as possible.  Walk five minutes every day.  The next week, we may walk six, or ten.  Do one pushup, and make it a wall pushup.  Once we have established good habits, we shift just a little bit and set ourselves minimums:  I do 30 minutes of cardio at least three days a week, or I lift weights at least once a week for 15 minutes, or I eat at least one vegetable every day.

 

Bottom line:  choose an aim, make process goals to get there, and set minimums.