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Did you know it takes an average of 66 days to create a healthy habit? That’s from a study in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Researchers found that when adults set small and realistic goals and are consistent with the goal for several months, it will eventually become so much a part of their lives that it’s an almost automatic act – such as brushing your teeth before bed or putting on lotion after a bath.1
Maybe you’ve faced a serious medical issue recently and you have a goal to bounce back from it as quickly as you can. Perhaps you are worried about your physical health and need to exercise more, so you’d like to make some lifestyle changes.
But how do you set those goals? How do you organize your life so that you can fit in a new healthy habit? There is actually a trick to setting goals and achieving them. Let’s take a look.
Before You Begin
Remember: Before you make any changes to your current day-to-day health routine, talk to your doctor about what your plans are. A certain exercise, a new diet, or a supplement that looks promising might not be appropriate for you and the particular health conditions you might have. Your doctor can tell you whether it’s a good idea and might suggest alternatives that may be even better than your original plan.
It’s also a good idea for seniors to have a medical alert system with fall detection on hand. This supports your active lifestyle and keeps you protected 24/7 with help standing by if you ever need it for any reason. A fall alert can be a literal lifesaver if you suffer a fall or other emergency and need to call for assistance right away. The button alarm at your fingertips makes it easy to get help fast.
Now let’s dive into setting realistic goals.
What are SMART Goals?
Sometimes, a concept created for business works marvelously for a personal plan. SMART is an acronym that many business leaders know quite well. SMART is a solid way to set a goal and measure how you know when you’ve met it. Here’s what it means when modified to reflect personal growth:
S: Specific and Simple
The goal can be defined easily. You know exactly what you want to do and can describe it to someone else so that they understand it too. Start with the simple, overarching theme of “improve cardiovascular health” or “exercise more often.” Then dig down into what that means.
You can get as specific as you want, but remember that one goal at a time is the best way to go about it. Rather than a goal of running a one-minute mile, you can plan a specific goal to run a shorter distance, moving faster each time until you hit the “wall” and can go no faster; then your goal can change.
M: Measurable and Maintainable
Your goal can be tracked with milestones, achievements, and careful pacing. Figure out how you will measure your goal. This is where the goal moves from “improve cardiovascular health” to “walk an additional mile each day.” Then go beyond that by making it more of a challenge, such as “walk the fastest mile you ever have.”
It should also be a goal that you can maintain when you reach it. For instance, improving your cognitive health is great, but striving for that shouldn’t end if you hit a certain goal. The idea is to create lifelong healthy habits, so you’d need to create new goals and keep improving!
A: Achievable and Age-Appropriate
The goal you want to meet is a challenging one that will stretch your abilities, but it’s not an unrealistic goal at all. You believe you can meet the goal, especially if you take it in manageable bits. Learning to pace yourself is the key to making any goal or new habit really “stick.”
It’s also important to also make sure this goal is age-appropriate. That means taking an honest look at your abilities and limitations. Though you might think kick-boxing looks like an amazing way to get fit (and it is), is that something your body has the ability to do for you? If you have balance issues or low bone density, you are at a greater risk of falls and fractures when performing certain exercises. Though a personal alarm button can help you with peace of mind and can summon help around the clock when needed, no medical alert device can actually prevent you from falling.
In other words, choose goals that meet you where you are in life.
R: Relevant and Realistic
Make sure the goal makes sense for your life. It might be a goal that improves your mobility. It might be trying to attain a certain body weight on the scale. Or it might be as simple as choosing to take your medication on time, every time.
It’s also important to understand your skills and your limitations to make sure goals stay realistic. For instance, let’s say you’ve had a stroke and you’re determined to regain all of your mobility. Talk to your doctor about what expectations are appropriate for you. Some stroke survivors might not regain 100% of the mobility they used to have; according to CDC.2
Therefore, look to goals that you can fully meet. Once you’ve mastered those, set new ones!
T: Timely and Tailored
The goal you choose is a way to move you into a healthier, happier future. Look at where you are right now in your life and what changes would get you to a better place right now. For instance, your goal to work on lowering cholesterol levels might be sparked by a lab report that gives you surprisingly high cholesterol numbers, and you’re worried about what that means for your long term health. That’s a timely issue that deserves your attention right now.
The goal should also be tailored to you and your health situation. Perhaps you have tried everything you can to bring your cholesterol levels down through diet and exercise but nothing is working or the numbers continue to get worse.
That might be an indication that it’s time to take cholesterol medication. If that’s the case, you tweak your goal to include taking your medication on time.
How to Put SMART Into Action
Let’s say that you want to set a goal to improve your cognitive ability over the next several months. Here’s how the SMART framework would look:
· S: Your overarching goal is that you want to improve cognitive health. Specifically, you want to engage in activities on a regular basis that are proven to boost your mental prowess. You might want to measure this through a cognitive test taken at various times during the year.
· M: Start measuring your progress by choosing an online cognitive test. Take the test and record your score. That’s your baseline. What score do you want to make? That’s your goal. Then plan to take the test once a month; in the meantime, measure your progress by taking smaller quizzes each week and plan for one hour of strong cognitive engagement each day.
· A: Improving cognitive ability is a great goal for any age. Make this very achievable by being open to more than one outcome. For example, you’ve set a goal to get a certain score. However, you’ve still met a wonderful goal if you participate in cognitive health every day, without fail. Even if your scores don’t reach the higher threshold you set for yourself, you are challenging and testing your brain in other ways. Consistency itself can be a fantastic goal.
· R: Take a step back and examine your goal so far. Is it relevant and realistic for you? The goal of improving your brainpower is certainly relevant to anyone but becomes especially important as we get older. According to the journal SSM – Population Health, two out of three Americans experience some cognitive decline by the age of 70.3 Since cognitive decline begins much earlier than you actually spot the problem, improving cognitive health is a very realistic goal no matter someone’s age.
· T: A goal is especially timely if it solves a problem – in this case, it’s solving the problem of cognitive decline. You might have extra motivation for this if you’re concerned about not thinking as clearly as you used to. To make the most of the boost that a timely change can give you, make sure your goal is tailored specifically to you. To do this, choose a cognitive game that you really enjoy, or plan out a time of day to challenge your brain through puzzles and other activities. Set aside one hour a day and soon you will come to look forward to that time.
Realistic Goals for Better Health
What are some goals you could set for yourself today that would hold you in good stead tomorrow? There are many options that seniors can choose from that would improve their physical, emotional, and mental health. Here are some ideas:
· Make this a more social year. Plan on spending more time with family and friends, or join a group at your senior center.
· Find an exercise buddy and set a schedule to keep you both on track and accountable.
· Choose a new hobby, one that suits your interests and your goals. For instance, if you’re trying to improve your motor skills after a stroke, devoting an hour a day to assembling a model kit could be the enjoyable hobby that helps you move closer to your goal.
· Invest in a tablet and download a variety of cognitive games. Carry it with you wherever you go and track the time you devote to these games.
· Plan on regular lunch dates with friends and family to keep your social skills sharp.
· Start a routine of journaling every day to help you combat the depression and anxiety that can often plague seniors as they age.
· Talk to your doctor or physical therapist about balance exercises and then start keeping track of how often you do them. Make a goal of filling up an exercise journal this year.
· Set a goal of walking a certain number of steps each day to help improve your physical fitness.
Making your safety and security a top priority is a very worthy goal. A medical alert bracelet or wristband can help you with that. As you go through the process of meeting each goal you set for yourself, you might run into hiccups along the way – that’s especially true if you’re dealing with goals that push you physically. As you pursue those goals, being able to press a button to get help right away, no matter where you are, can provide incredible peace of mind. That peace of mind can give you more confidence to forge forward with your goals. Let Alert1 be part of your journey!
