Happy New Year! Now, Make SMART Goals That Help You Create the Life You Want!

As we enter into 2026, I'm happy to say that since I became a dietitian over 25 year ago, the way people view the new year has shifted positively, from a focus on resolutions to a focus on goals. That's fantastic!

Unfortunately, many people set "goals" that aren't really goals at all. And some people set goals, but their goals aren't terribly helpful. This is why, for decades now, I've been encouraging clients to set SMART goals. So, today we'll take a look at you can make SMART goals that help you create the life you want!

Why am I so focused on SMART goals? Many "goals" are what I call statements of desire. Statements of desire are wildly unhelpful. They describe your destination, but don't give you any direction with regard to your journey. Some common examples of statements of desire include "I want to lose 20 pounds this year," or "I want to read a book every month," or "I want to get more organized."

Statements of desire usually end poorly, because you don't have a game plan to get you where you want to go. How are you going to lose 20 pounds? (And even better question, how are you going to keep it off?) What books will you read? When will you make time to read them? What do you mean when you say "more organized"? The vagueness of these goals makes it incredibly difficult for you to stay on track with them, and that makes it far less likely you'll be successful.

On top of that, many statements of desire, like "I want to lose 20 pounds this year" set you up for failure instead of success because they're outside your circle of control. As a culture we don't like to talk about it, but your body is a living thing, not an inanimate object you can completely control. While there are things you can do to influence weight loss, you can't directly control it, or predict how much or when you'll lose weight.

So what's a SMART goal? A SMART goal is one that is:

• Specific -- you know exactly what you're going to do to reach your goal (which should include where, when, and how you'll do things)

• Measurable -- you can count, measure, or in some tangible way, know when you've reached your goal

• Attainable -- your goal is in your circle of control (that is, there are specific, measurable things you can do that will help you get to your goal)

• Realistic -- given how your life is, and who you are, you can accomplish the goal at this time

• Time-limited -- your goal has a specific begin and end date

A SMART goal for weight loss might be "I will drink 2 liters of water daily, by drinking a half-liter of water before breakfast, a half-liter of water before lunch, a half-liter of water after lunch, and a half-liter of water before 9 PM for 14 days." This goal is Specific (you know exactly what, where, and how you're doing to get in 2 liters of water every day). It's also Measurable (you're drinking 2 liters, in half-liter increments, during certain time frames), and Attainable (drinking water is within your circle of control).

Whether or not this goal is Realistic depends on the individual. If you're currently drinking no water daily, starting with a half-liter a day and working up gradually might be more realistic. If your work schedule makes going to the restroom when you want difficult or impossible, you may need to plan your water intake differently.

You'll notice this goal is Time-limited, to 14 days. I encourage you to make your goals time-limited by using a number of days, rather than for weeks or months (or, worst of all, saying "for the rest of my life").

Why? Goals like "I'll drink 2 liters of water every day for 2 weeks" usually fail, because what happens if you make it to day 9 of your second week, and fall short of your 2 liters of water? You haven't met your goal, and you aren't taking into consideration your 8 days of success.

And while you may need to follow through on a goal for the foreseeable future, goals that you'll do "for the rest of my life" are both discouraging--and impossible! You may want to drink 2 liters of water every day for the rest of your life, but you aren't going to reach that goal. Things will happen outside your circle of control, you'll forget, and so on.

So, it makes more sense to keep your goals short-term, so you can check in regularly with what's working, and see if there's anything you need to change up. Depending on how skilled you are with the goal, short-term may be as short as 3 days, or it may be a month, but I encourage you to check in regularly with yourself on how it's going.

Next week, we'll talk about some strategies that make following through on goals more fun, which in turn makes it more likely you'll be successful as you work toward your goals. In the meantime, make sure your goals for the new year are SMART. If the idea of creating and following through on goals sounds overwhelming or too challenging, I encourage you to consider working with a therapist. A therapist can help you sort out how your past influences your self-talk in the present, and help you move from surviving to thriving!

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