Category: Cooperative Extension
Goal Setting in 2025
January 08, 2025 Written by Gina Crist, Community Health Specialist - Health & Well-being Program Leader
We all know the drill—the new year comes, and we are flooded with information—New Year, New You, Kickstart your Health, lose weight, be more active, get more sleep, etc. While it is important to always be thinking about our health and how behaviors impact our overall wellness, we don’t need to change ourselves every time the calendar changes to a new year.
SMART Method
If; however, you do have plans to make a change in your health and wellness this year, making sure that you set realistic goals is important in ensuring that you will be able to be successful. Using the SMART method of goal setting is one way to ensure that this is possible. SMART stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable/Attainable
Realistic
Time-Bound/Timely
What does this look like in real life? A non-SMART goal is “I want to lose weight”. A SMART goal would be “I want to try one new fruit or vegetable per week through May 25, 2025, to assist in my nutrition habits”. It’s specific - you know what behavior you are trying to do (choosing a new fruit or vegetable), it’s measurable (each week); it’s achievable (it isn’t taking anything away and not something that will be hard for me to do given budget or time constraints); it’s realistic (it isn’t adding too many, and not to every meal); and it’s time-bound (added an end date - until May 25, 2025).
This may seem trivial, but making sure that you have small goals assists you in creating habits that will add up to changes in your overall health and wellness. This method can be used across all areas of health - setting a goal to save $5 per week; adding 10 minutes of activity per day; and putting down your phone 15 minutes before bedtime - all are good, small and realistic ways to set you on the right track! Looking for ideas? Check out our website for information on different healthy habits you can aim for this year.
And if you aren’t looking to change your habits this year, that’s okay too! It’s important to use the time to reflect, but making a new goal isn’t always necessary. Keeping up the good work you already do on a regular basis is important in maintaining your long-term health!
We work to address health in a holistic way, aiming to meet people where they are and assist them in whatever dimension of health that they feel they need to enhance. If you are interested in learning more about our programs, please visit our website: https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/nutrition-wellness/