Happy YOU Year!

AVOID junk food. LOSE 20 pounds by summer. DON’T miss a workout. Sound familiar? It’s that time of the year again when the holidays come to an end; the house is in shambles from the revolving door of company, and the days of staying in pajamas all day cease to exist. Maybe our clothes are a bit snugger, our workout routine has fallen to the wayside or maybe we just want to feel better than we do right now.

No matter where you are at in this moment, I challenge each of you to read the above quote and listen to how you react to it. New Years’ resolutions can be overwhelming for many, and much of it can be due to the thought process surrounding the above quote. For my Type-A perfection chasers, maybe you’re right there with me on this one. “Well I was SUPPOSED to “x” but that didn’t happen so I have to start over again tomorrow because today was a total failure.” What if I asked you to look at the above quote as a DAILY quote rather than a quote read only on January 1st of each year? Would your perspective change?

Perfection is unattainable, but each day we wake up, we have multiple opportunities to make decisions that promote self-care (even if we miss the first few). The reason resolutions tend to overwhelm us, is because our goals aren’t SMART. Huh? Bear with me…

Acronym	Goal	Smart Goal
Specific What exactly do you want to achieve? Why?	Weight Loss	I want to lose 20 pounds so I can avoid using up sick days
Measurable How will you know you reached your goal? (Use quantifiable value)	My clothes will fit better	I will weigh myself every Sunday to determine if I’m losing weight.
Attainable Can you see yourself achieving this goal?	Well, I need to lose the weight so yes…	I have a Trader Joe’s five minutes away from my house that I can shop at and a gym membership where I am able to workout four days a week
Realistic Is it a worthwhile goal? Is it the right time?	I work two jobs, go to school and have four kids that all have after school activities so meal prep and time for the gym is scarce, but summer is in a month so….	I have time on Sunday’s to prepare healthier meals for the week instead of eating at McDonald and my family is supportive of my need to cook and eat healthier.
Timely How long will it take to reach your goal?	As soon as possible	I will lose the 20 pounds in four months.

I leave you with one important reminder. “Attitudes are contagious. Make sure, no matter where you go or who you meet in life, yours is worth catching." The way you treat yourself dictates the first of the 365 blank pages. Take care of yourselves. Be SMART. Happy YOU year.