Beyond ‘New Year, New Me’: Creating Sustainable Change

Posted on Friday, January 12th, 2024

Not sure where to start when it comes to New Year’s resolutions?

I want to first mention that you do not have to make a resolution. There is a lot of ‘New year, New me,’ mentality floating around this time of year. I want to clarify that there doesn’t have to be something wrong with how you are currently! If you want to make a change, having internal motivation rather than the pressure of the new year will likely serve you better. We have all felt that shame when February rolls around after an ambitious resolution didn’t last long.

If you do decide to make a resolution, make sure you set yourself up for success. I recommend making small changes toward your desired end goal rather than trying to make multiple, large changes immediately to skip straight to the outcome. Making small, easy changes will result in a more sustainable outcome that can be maintained for years to come.

S.M.A.R.T. goals – I am sure most of you have heard this term before in class and are annoyed by it. However, the facts don’t lie! These style goals are going to be more manageable and easier to stick with! If you haven’t heard this term before – S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely.

Let’s break this down a bit further ->

Specific: You want your goal to be specific and not too broad. Clearly state the ‘what’, ‘who’, and the ‘why.’

Measurable: The success toward this goal needs to be measurable. You need to determine how you will know if you’ve successfully met your goal.

Achievable: The goal needs to be realistic and achievable in a specific amount of time. Do you currently have the skills to achieve this, or should there be a step before this goal?

Relevant: The set goal should align with current objectives. Try to determine the expected result and why the goal is being set.

Timely: All goals need to have a clearly defined time frame. Including a target deadline will ensure this process doesn’t go on forever.

I recommend setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for each step of the way to your desired outcome to progress toward an overarching goal. This will help to define the objective of each smaller goal.

Finally, keep in mind if you do decide to make a change, that it doesn’t need to wait until a new year, a new season, or the next Monday. Change can happen whenever you are ready for it!


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