It’s a new year which means new perspectives and time to set some new goals for the year ahead. It’s also a time to reflect on your 2019 goals, which goals did you reach, and which were you not able to fulfill? If you are unhappy with your progress in 2019 or just want to set great health goals for 2020, here is a useful tool when it comes to setting your 2020 resolution. ‘SMARTER’ is a useful acronym for goal setting. It ensures your goals are:
S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Achievable
R- Realistic
T- Timely
E-Exiting
R-Risky
When we apply this to health goals, we can easily make and ensure the goals are achievable whilst making a meaningful difference to your health and day-to-day life.
S- Set a goal that is specific. If you are wanting to address back pain, work out what it is that aggravates this pain, how this affects your daily activities and what areas you are most concerned about. This information will help your chiropractor tenfold. Some other questions to consider are: what level of improvement are you wanting, and what are you willing to do to make sure this happens? Likely the most important question of them all!
M- Set goals which can be measured. Chat with us about how to measure your treatment success. Some questions to consider in this stage are: what should positive steps in recovery look like and for how often will I need appointments in order to reach my specific goals? If you are not in recovery, but want to set a goal of starting to run in 2020 or become a better swimmer, you need to be specific so you can see when you have achieved your goal. E.g. I want to be able to run 5 km without stopping, or I want to be able to swim 1 km without stopping. This is easily measurable.
A- Set goals which are achievable. For back pain, reducing or eliminating pain is a process that requires attention through sticking to a regular treatment and rehabilitation cycle. You may need to shift your priorities if you feel as though your busy lifestyle does not allow time to devote to your health. Make an agreement with yourself that you will devote X amount of time to rehabilitation and exercise each week. This can include time to see us for treatment and any extra activities recommended by us during your consultation. This may also include remedial massage therapy, exercises for you to do at home or a stretching regime. If your goals are not realistic or achievable, they will not be sustainable in the long run. Consistency is imperative in rehabilitation and achieving new things.
R – Create realistic goals and expectations for your recovery. Unfortunately, recovery is not often a process that can happen overnight. This can be frustrating and stressful as sometimes, as patients, we don’t consider longer recovery timelines. For example, you might be experiencing headaches, which you wish to go away by tomorrow; however, there may be underlying issues that need to be corrected for the headaches to reduce in severity and duration. This is when a medical professional comes in. Your GP or chiropractor will be able to help you work out what a realistic goal would be, depending on your individual case.
T- Create goals that are time bound. Create a time schedule and stick to it. Having regular appointment times, for example, 2pm on Thursdays, may help you remember your appointments and will create a regular routine for your body, which may, in turn help your body respond to the treatment better. It’s also important to consider time when considering your busy schedule and specific back problem. For instance, it’s all well and good to say, “I want no back pain ASAP” but it is more realistic to create a specific date of “I want no back pain by the 1st of May!” This gives you a ticking clock, which then motivates you to get the ball rolling and keep it rolling until you reach your end point.
E-Having something Exciting to look forward to will keep you going even when the road gets tough. We all experience ups and downs in recovery or reaching for a health/exercise goal.If your journey and end result is being able to do something exciting, you will be much more likely to stick to your recovery or training along the way. Find a race or holiday you want to be able to handle easily at the end of your recovery or training.
Risky-High goals can feel risky but very rewarding once achieved. That said, don't go overboard. If you can barely walk now, don't expect to run a marathon by the end of the month (Remember A-Achievable). If you do set a high goal that may seem risky make sure you set small goals along the way so it doesn't look too intimidating. If you want to climb a mountain, set a small goal of waling up the mountain for half an hour (or what your fitness allows), then next time, increase that time by another 15-20 minutes ans so on. If you are recovering from an injury, you can contact us at Andersen Chiropractic and we will help you set realistic goals for your recovery that can still feel risky, but achievable.
So, let’s tackle that pain and start the decade off right with SMARTER goals for the future! This framework can be applied to any other goals you may have – so run them through the SMARTER test and see how they go! No matter what your goal is in 2020, let us help you get there. Book an appointment today and take the first step to a decade of goal kicking goodness!
References:
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. (n.d.) Goal Setting using the SMART Acronym. Retrieved from: https://health.mo.gov/living/families/wic/localagency/
Jane Friedman. (2014). How I recovered from 3 years of chronic back pain. Retrieved from: https://www.janefriedman.com/recovery-from-chronic-back-pain/
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