Alison Aubrey, an NPR correspondent with two decades of health reporting experience, shares insights on New Year's resolutions. She emphasizes the power of SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—for setting realistic and actionable objectives. Listeners learn how to break down their goals into manageable steps and reflect on personal motivations. Aubrey also discusses the importance of community support in achieving resolutions, encouraging people to create meaningful connections while pursuing their aspirations.
Specific and clear goals increase the chances of success.
Tracking progress regularly provides a long-term view of achievements.
Goals should align with values and reflect what is important to you.
Deep dives
Setting Specific Goals
When setting goals, it's important to be specific and clear about what you want to achieve. Vague ideas like 'getting healthy' should be narrowed down to specific actions, such as building muscle strength or improving aerobic fitness. The key is to articulate your goals in a sentence or two, making sure they can be clearly defined.
Making Goals Measurable
To bridge the gap between intention and action, it is crucial to make goals measurable. Tracking your progress regularly can significantly increase the chances of success. Recording milestones, such as mileage when training for a race or logging practice sessions for learning a new skill, provides a long-term view of your achievements and helps you reflect on your progress.
Setting Achievable Goals
Goals should be attainable and reasonable. Breaking them down into smaller steps or building blocks can make them more manageable. For example, in marathon training, gradually increasing weekly mileage over several months helps beginners reach their goal of running 26 miles. Understanding the time and effort required for a goal is essential to determine its achievability.
Ensuring Relevance of Goals
Goals should align with your values and reflect what is truly important to you. Asking 'why' multiple times can help uncover the underlying reasons behind a specific goal and whether it truly resonates with your values. This exploration can lead to a deeper understanding of your motivations and help ensure the goals you set are relevant and meaningful.
Establishing Time-Bound Goals
Setting deadlines or timeframes for achieving goals is crucial to maintain focus and prioritize them. Without a sense of urgency, other tasks and distractions can easily take over. Time-bound goals help in organizing and allocating time effectively, making sure you stay on track and make progress toward your desired outcome.
Happy New Year! If you want to make a resolution that sticks, the key to success is creating what's known as a SMART goal. This episode outlines how SMART goals work and how they can help you use your time for the things that matter most.