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Writer's pictureAaron Wyant

SMART Goal Setting and Self-tracking

Updated: Jul 16


Defining Your Goals

The SMART acronym is an excellent way to further analyze what you want to accomplish in your pursuit of health and wellness.


S pecific

M easurable

A ction-based

R ealistic

T ime-bound


Place more value on those things you want to accomplish and show them respect by investing the time to define them. Stay away from being general or generic. Break down the things that bring you happiness. Define success. Create a measurable metric to keep track of your progress. Make an action plan that helps you overcome obstacles and allows you to focus more of your time and attention on actively pursuing your goal. Don’t bite off more than you can chew; be honest with yourself, envisioning something attainable that will also challenge and push you. Finally, give yourself a deadline to make the goal a reality.


Find more helpful tips on creating an action plan and managing your time wisely here: https://www.aaronwyant.com/post/time-management


Long-term and Short-term Goals

Our blueprint for success often requires further categorization of the short-term building blocks and small victories that will lead to long-term success. Whether exercising, learning a new skill, changing a behavior, or doing anything that makes us uncomfortable, the journey to growth is a long-term battle and it takes persistence. In those moments that we find ourselves lagging in motivation to carry the load day in and day out, having realistic short-term goals can really help us from feeling overwhelmed or burned out; they are important for recognizing what you’ve achieved and how each step moves you closer to the final goal.

Setting long-term and short-term goals will help keep us focused and on track, especially in periods of time when we need to either crack-down on ourselves to get things accomplished or allow some grace and avoid being overly harsh on ourselves. It can be very helpful to compartmentalize your blueprint into these two types of goals and to refer back to them when you find yourself up against the barriers that life will inevitably throw at you.


Self-tracking

Simply listing the goal and whittling it down to the specifics is not enough; we’ve got to make a plan for how we’ll pursue and achieve that goal. Writing out precise objectives that will lead to that goal takes our blueprint to the next level and turns it into an action plan. Make sure to include in your plan objective measures and metrics that can easily be tracked. A simple way to think of this would be that your long-term goals define what success looks like, short-term goals point you in a more specific direction toward achieving success, while the objectives provide measurable instructions for how to follow that direction. Self-tracking requires an objective mindset and the will to hold ourselves accountable; like a performance evaluation for work, we have to be responsible for our past and future selves by checking in on our progress from time to time.



Wellness Work Challenge

Create an action-based plan to pursue wellness and achieve your goals. Choose one of the eight branches and build out your SMART Goal Setting game plan. Define the pursuit specifically, measure it, create an action plan, and track your pursuit.


Branches of Wellness

1. Physical: recognition of the need for physical activity, healthy nutrition, and sleep and their importance in preventing illness and injury or managing chronic, physical stress and health conditions.

2. Emotional: the ability to handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and/or difficult times. Having a sense of positive self-regard, coping with stress effectively, and creating satisfying relationships.

3. Spiritual: an expanded sense of purpose and meaning in life, including one’s values, morals, and ethics.

4. Intellectual: recognition and pursuit of ways to expand knowledge and skills through intellectually stimulating activities, such as personal and professional development, cultural and community involvement, and personal hobbies.

5. Occupational: personal satisfaction, enrichment, and meaning through work. The exploration of career opportunities and pursuit of what you have a passion for.

6. Social: the development of connection, belonging, and a strong community support system. The relationships in your life and how you interact with others.

7. Environmental: the recognition of pleasant, stimulating environments that support well-being. Interaction with nature and the sense of contribution to the health of your natural surroundings.

8. Financial: being at a state in which you can fully meet your current and future financial obligations while feeling secure in the financial future making choices that allow you to enjoy life.


Stay updated and find more expert exercise guidance by SUBSCRIBING to my YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/@AaronWyantMS. And check out my quick, no equipment needed exercise routines at: www.AaronWyant.com/onlineprograms.

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