By Wendy M. Henrichs
Board Certified Chiropractic Pediatrician and Nutrition Counselor

A New Year is upon us and the opportunity to start anew. The New Year is the time when many make resolutions. Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Do you keep them? I think that is a problem with the New Year’s Resolutions. We are gung ho for a week, a month or maybe a bit longer if we are diligent and then ‘poof’ – the days, weeks and months accumulate until another year has passed us by. I propose a non-resolution New Year. Instead why don’t we have a SMART year?

SMART is used in relationship to goal setting. SMART goals are an acronym for:
Specific- Your goals must be clear and specific.
Measurable-Goals must be measurable.
*I want to have better relationships says something, but how do I measure that? I want to be healthier, but what am I using to check my progress?
Attainable-If your goal is not reasonable or attainable then you will become discouraged.
I want to lose 20 pounds in the next month. That is 5 pounds a week-not impossible, but not probable.
Rewarding- Achieving goals takes time and energy. Ask yourself these questions:
*Does my goal energize me?
*Do I really want this?
*How does doing this make my life better?
*Do I get excited thinking about it?
*Will I feel happy if I accomplish this?
If you are procrastinating, you may want to reset your goal(s) to one that moves you!
Time Bounded- A deadline makes it REAL. A goal without a deadline is a wish.
We sometimes set a goal or say we want to do something, but we are not clear in what we want. The result is we either do nothing or don’t achieve what we thought we wanted. Setting SMART goals gives your mind the roadmap to success. You can set SMART goals for any aspect of your life. Here are some examples:
*In the next 7 days, I will accumulate 70 spin bike miles.
Start at 70 and subtract every time you accumulate miles until you get to zero.
*For the next week, I will put down my cell phone or IPad when my child or spouse is talking to me.
Take an empty jar and put a piece of paper, penny, or other measure in every time you accomplish this.
*I will eat protein with every meal and snack for the next 5 days.
Keep a food log for 5 days which will hold you accountable and you can track your progress.
*Today I will work on my email twice, once when I get up or get to work and again at 3pm.
Set an alarm on your phone to check email and do it only at that time. I also suggest you set another alarm to end the email task at 20 or 30 minutes.
*For the next week, I will set the intention for my day.
Write down what you want your day to look like.
At the end of the day write down what your day was like.
The SMART goal concept can be applied to most anything you want to accomplish. Why don’t you start today and set (3) SMART goals? Set a daily, weekly and a monthly SMART goal for January. Do this each month and enjoy the rewards of a SMART year.
Dr. Wendy Henrichs is a board certified chiropractor and nutrition counselor at Timberland Chiropractic in Rhinelander. For a complimentary chiropractic, nutrition or lifestyle counseling consultation, visit TimberlandChiropractic.com, Facebook, or call 715-362-4852.