www.workoutsforyou.com/article_smart.asp
The above link is an article about setting S.M.A.R.T. fitness goals for yourself.
http://www.hr.virginia.edu/uploads/documents/media/Writing_SMART_Goals.pdf
The above link is about setting work-related goals. Something I will need to do soon because I'll be going back to school, and doing research for a professor. Busy girls need SMART Goals.
Setting fitness goals can be problematic for most people. That's because most of us set goals that are too vague and we lose the motivation to focus on those goals. Never fear though; psychology research to the rescue. Yes, psychologists and other researchers study what motivates us. Some philosophers, such as John Locke, had already laid the ground work for research on motivation centuries ago. Basically, psychologists researched motivation, did experiments, then took Locke's principles and put a modern-day spin on them. The reason being that after all the scientific experimentation was done, it turns out that Locke's observations were correct all along. Now, some of you might say, well that seems pretty obvious to me so why would researchers waste their time, effort and money on something so obvious (?). The point of doing rigorous scientific experimentation is to test thoughts that we take foregranted as true. In other words, by testing things through experimentation, we can remove the wheat from the chaff (what is actually true and what is not true).
Goal setting can help motivate us especially if those goals are S.M.A.R.T. Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant (has meaning to you), and Time-bound). I have a fitness goal of getting in shape for the Breast Cancer Fundraiser in April 2013. That's still a little way off but it's more than realistic especially since I'm training at least 4 days/week right now. This last Tuesday, I set yet another goal for myself and that is to be down 1 dress size before Christmas. This is how my goal fits into the SMART format:
Specific - down 1 dress size
Measurable - it's about 20 lbs loss in 17 weeks or if I'm measuring inches lost then it's about 1 & 1/2 inches
Attainable - yes, it's still realistic. It's about a pound & 1/2 - 2 lbs per week but it's still attainable.
Relevant - getting in shape and losing weight has meaning for me.
Time-bound - my time is up on Christmas Day for this goal :) What a nice holiday present that will be. Boxing Day sales here I come LOL!!! CHA-CHING! :D
SMART Goals can be used for anything in your life, i.e. emotional and personal development, work goals, school-study goals, fitness, anything you can possibly think of can fit into this model. Hint: Write your goal down and remind yourself of it often. This will help you to focus.
Cool, I've been thinking about SMART goals.
ReplyDeleteQuick thought on testing thoughts that we take for granted: Even when the obvious idea turns out to be correct, this kind of rigorous testing will refine the idea.
For example, I heard a major study concluded that loneliness can be helped by improving social skills and seeing other people. A real shocker. But there were also details: the most consistently effective social skill therapy was teaching people to see social interaction in a positive light, so they would dwell on what went well and not assume the other people didn't like them. That part isn't as obvious.
Hi Gord, Thank you for your comment. Your example of loneliness is perfect because it's an experiment that seems obvious by has very useful and practical applications.
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