January and “goal setting” have become a thing. I know, some people avoid New Year’s Goals, having been burned by previous goals that didn’t work out. I get that. Why set yourself up for disappointment? However, this well known quote from Zig Ziglar has some truth to it. When we don’t have any goals, we can coast along and not make progress in our lives. We achieve “nothing”.
Maybe you are happy with how your health and your life are doing right now- that is great. But even if things are perfect, they are going to take some maintenance! I’ve found that the older I get, the more maintenance it takes to keep this all running!!!
The thing about setting goals is that it causes us to stretch ourselves. This is really good for us. But goal setting should be SMART- to use the business model acronym: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable and Time-sensitive. As I talk to patients, I will ask about “health goals”. Often people desire to “get healthier”, but don’t have a plan in place of how they are going to do this. Some want to lose weight or “get in shape” but don’t think further about what steps they need to take to make this happen. Albert Einstein said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Sometimes we can continue to eat the same way, or maintain the same activity levels and hope that we will see things change in our health, only to be disappointed when they don’t. Old ways won’t open new doors.
So how might we apply this to our wellness? Being specific about what area(s) of your health you would like to focus on will give direction to your action. Instead of “get in better shape”, think about what that means to you and what you can do to address this. It is helpful if there can be a measurable change. When Dr. Epstein first researched Network Care, he developed a self-rating scale for different aspects of health and wellness. He used this with 2800 patients to track the changes they made under care. We use this to track progress with patients in our office today. If you are trying to decrease your waist line or increase your bicep measurement- these are things you can measure and track. You can tell when that number changes. If you want more energy, you can rate your energy level daily on a scale of 1 to 10 and keep a record. Having attainable and reasonable goals is important (I accept that I will not have biceps the size of Duane Johnson, well not this year anyway.) And finally, set smaller goals in short periods, with an end that isn’t a whole year away. Weekly or monthly goals can move you along in the right direction, and positive results in these small goals can inspire you as you tackle bigger goals.
Goal setting isn’t just for New Years. It is a part of maintaining the health of this incredible machine, the human body.