Its That Time of Year: How to Make a SMART New Year's Resolution

Its that time of year once again...time to make a New Year's Resolution!  But what should you resolve to do this year?  Lose weight, eat better, exercise...blah, blah, blah.  You make the same resolutions every year and by the end of January, it has all gone out the window already.  How can you make a genuine resolution and keep it up?  Is it even possible?  Of course!

Be Specific!   
Don't generalize!  Give yourself a specific goal to attain for the new year.  Instead of making your resolution to "eat better", give yourself guidelines such as "half of my plate will be either fruits or veggies for dinner every night" or "each month I will try a new vegetable recipe".  Having a more specific goal in mind will keep you on track and make it easier to attain in the long term.

Can you Measure it?
Don't just make a resolution to "lose weight."  Make your resolution something that you can actually measure throughout the year so you can see the success as it happens.  Make a vow to try and lose 4 pounds each month and make sure to reward yourself as you see the results.  Giving yourself a measurable resolution will help to motivate you throughout the year. 

Is it Achievable?
Can you even do it?  So many of us make resolutions that even Santa himself couldn't do.  If your resolution is to lose 100 lbs in the new year, chances are you won't achieve that obstacle.  Set yourself up to succeed!  This way, as you start seeing and feeling the results of the changes, the better you will feel about yourself.  Once that resolution is achieved, you will feel that great sense of accomplishment.  Give yourself that warm fuzzy feeling!

Make it Realistic.
Don't be too hard on yourself, your only human!  Making an unrealistic and out-of-reach resolution will only cause stress and disappointment when you cannot achieve it.  Understand your limitations and plan accordingly.  If your career does not allow you to be able to leave during the work day, don't make your goal to work out three times per day at the gym, you are setting yourself up for failure to begin with.  Make your goal small at the get-go and allow yourself to be able to build upon it as you feel you can.  Start out with running around the block every morning before work and by the time summer rolls around you may be running 3 miles every morning!

Give it a Time line!
Boundaries are your friend!  If the resolution doesn't have an endpoint, there's no way to really measure or account for the change.  Instead of saying "I will write and publish a review article for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association" you could say "By May I will have all the research done for a review article for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, and the first draft will be written by December".  This way, you have a deadline to keep you honest.

Keeping these guidelines in mind will help you make and keep a SMART New Year's Resolution.  Keep in mind that if you really want this change to stay with you throughout the year, it also needs to be relevant to you and important.  Make this a lifestyle change and you will see results immediately.  Stay healthy!