Set Good Goals for the New Year

We’re on the precipice of a new year, and that means it’s the right time to start looking ahead and thinking about how you want to make 2024 your best year yet. If you set good goals for the new year—specifically, SMART goals—you’ll find the motivation you need to turn your New Year’s resolutions into positive lifestyle changes.

Setting Good Goals for the New Year

Many will fall short in their 2024 goals because they ultimately set the bar too high, have unrealistic expectations, or don’t know how to properly quantify progress. Without the right framework, it’s easy to lose the motivation you need to keep up with your New Year’s resolutions and see them through. That’s why setting good goals alone isn’t enough for a successful new year—you need to set SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym that means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and it applies perfectly to your health and wellness goals for the new year. A specific goal would be more involved than saying you want to lose weight or eat better. Instead, you’ll want to target a certain calorie intake or weight-loss goal, which goes hand in hand with the idea of being measurable.

When it comes to setting good health goals for the new year and maintaining your motivation, not being realistic is another common downfall. It’s not possible to lose 10 pounds in a week or completely change your eating habits overnight. You have to set goals that you can achieve, like tracking your protein intake, exercising for 15 minutes every day, or limiting yourself to one sugary snack a week. Once you’ve locked in achievable goals, you can build on them to create more progress and set your sights even higher.

Relevancy and time are also keys to this equation. Naturally, the relevance of setting smart health goals is improving your well-being, but your goals may be different based on your current health and potential risks. For example, losing weight to get into a healthy cholesterol range is more relevant if you have a family history of heart issues. You can leverage time to boost your motivation and measure your progress—if you lose a pound a week with the goal of losing five pounds in two months, you’ll have more wiggle room if you hit a plateau or suffer a temporary setback.

Keep Your Motivation and New Year’s Resolutions in Pontiac, IL

Setting good, SMART goals can help you maintain motivation all year long, achieve the progress you want, and find yourself heading into 2025 as the absolute best version of yourself. If you’d like help getting there, Livingston County Chiropractic Center in Pontiac, IL, is here to help. We offer services like chiropractic care, Ideal Protein Weight Loss, and more—schedule an appointment or give us a call at 815-844-4631 to tell us a bit about your New Year’s resolutions and learn how we can help.

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