Setting S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Yourself
Creating Goals for Short- and Long-Term Motivation and Success in Recovery
Goal setting is a powerful process of thinking about your ideal future and motivating yourself to turn your vision into reality. Setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where to concentrate your efforts.
Why set goals?
Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your time and resources so that you can make the most of your life. By setting sharp, clearly defined goals, you can measure and take pride in achieving those goals, and you'll see forward progress in what might previously have seemed like a long pointless grind. You will also raise your self-confidence, as you recognize your own ability and competence in achieving the goals that you've set.
SMART goals
A useful way of making goals more powerful is to use the SMART mnemonic. SMART usually stands for:
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Relevant
T – Time-bound
For example, instead of having "to sail around the world" as a goal, it's more powerful to use the SMART goal "complete my trip around the world by December 31, 2027." Obviously, this will only be attainable with a lot of preparation and work!
Further tips for setting your goals
The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective, achievable goals:
State each goal as a positive statement – Express your goals positively. "Execute this technique well" is a much better goal than "Don't make this stupid mistake."
Be precise – Set precise goals by including dates, times, and amounts so that you can measure achievement.
Set priorities – When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
Write goals down – This crystallizes them and gives them more power.
Keep operational goals small – Keep the low-level goals that you're working towards small and achievable. Doing this provides more opportunities for reward.
Set realistic goals – It's important to set goals that you can realistically achieve.
For the full article, click here.
Recipe of the week
Garlic Parmesan Chicken with Bow Tie Pasta
This pasta recipe is a perfect 30-minute meal! Garlic parmesan chicken with a rich cream sauce and bow tie pasta!
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small red onion, chopped
½ red bell pepper, chopped
½ green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup milk
½ cup heavy cream
8 oz bow tie pasta
½ teaspoon salt (3 gm)
1 teaspoon black pepper (2.33 gm)
½ cup parmesan cheese (45 gm)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (3.8 gm)
Instructions
In a deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat.
To the pan, add the chicken cubes and cook, stirring regularly, for 3 minutes until the outside is browned.
Add in the onions and bell peppers, then continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, salt, and black pepper then continue cooking for an additional 1 minute.
To the pot, add in the chicken broth, milk, cream, and the dry pasta and stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover.
Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the parmesan cheese, and stir to combine.
Serve immediately with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.