Arkansas
Association of
Family and Consumer
Sciences

What are your "New Year’s Resolutions?" Are you determined to make a new you in this New Year? While resolutions are good, there are a good many of them that fall by the wayside before Valentine's Day rolls around...and at the end of the year, many find themselves still hoping to make the same changes the next year. So, what makes a person successful at achieving goals? After all, those resolutions are really goals we set for ourselves.

One key component of achieving goals is that you are clear about what they are. Let’s look at a couple of common ones: If you want to lose weight, have you determined how much? How will you measure your progress, in pounds, inches, dress size, or percent of body fat? How about saving money or getting out of debt? Do you know how much you currently owe and at what rate of interest? Do you know the amount that you want to save and where you will put the savings? When you make clear, specific goals that you write down, commit to, and share with others you greatly increase your chances of success.

When you write your goals, it will help you if your goals are "SMART." SMART stands for specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic, and time bound. We covered specific and measurable; let’s look at action oriented, realistic and time bound. For a goal to ever be achieved, it has to be put into action. If you have $1200 in debt that you want to pay off within one year, a reasonable action would be to pay down your debt by $100 per month. Your action should produce your result over a given time. Realism is also very important. Making changes in our habits is often difficult. If we set goals out of the range of what we consider realistic, we will become discouraged and quit, but if the goal is realistic we will be willing to make changes to achieve them. The last consideration is time. When do you want to achieve your goal? The amount of time is yet another yardstick to measuring your success. Often large goals can be broken down into smaller, easier goals. Instead of focusing on 25 pounds in the next year, which sounds daunting, try focusing on two pounds in the next month or one pound in the next two weeks. If you maintain that pace, you will be 25 pounds lighter come next January.

There are a few more things you can do to improve your chances of success. Be patient with yourself...changes take time and new habits are slow to form. If you have an "off" day or week...try again tomorrow rather than giving up. Don’t try to change too many things at once. Maintain your focus. In addition to telling others about your goals, you might need to tell yourself a few times as well. You can use post-it notes, screen savers, even setting your passwords as positive reminders, for example typing in "be_fit" each time you log into your computer keeps you thinking on the right track.

The thought "work smarter, not harder"e; can also help you out. There is no need for you to design a debt reduction spreadsheet when you can easily find one on the web. For debt reduction, Powerpay.org, a project of the Utah State Extension Service, is a perfect helper. If you are looking to save more effectively, try bankrate.com for calculators and savings rates offered across the country. Healthy eating is the topic of many sites such as mypyramid.gov. Don’t forget to mine the AAFCS.org for good ideas also. There are so many wonderful ideas to consider; the sky really is the limit! Put your mind and body to work achieving the goals you have set for yourself this year - you can do it! When Valentine’s Day rolls around...do something good for yourself as a reward for still working toward your resolutions and making progress toward changing your life for the better!