Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Goal Setting 101


Why do we set goals for ourselves? In the therapeutic setting, we set long-term goals as well as short-term goals. These goals help therapists to structure our therapy sessions. Without goals, we do not know what we are working on or for.

In our personal life, we also set goals. However they may be much more general and less specific. We set goals for retirement, vacations, weight loss, personal goals, and maybe even home maintenance. When you set a goal, do you sit down and plan it out in detail, or is it something that you just keep in your mind? I want you to think about how successful you are in reaching your goals. What do you think helps or hinders you in reaching your goals?

Did you know that research indicates that those that actually write their goals are much more successful in reaching them? So let’s write some S.M.A.R.T. goals! For those of you unfamiliar with this acronym, let me break it down for you:
            Specific
            Measureable
            Achievable
            Reachable
            Time specific

 Ok, so how do you write a S.M.A.R.T. goal? I will direct you to my friend over at OT Mama for her break down her goal of waking up early in the morning.

When we take the time to write our goals in a structured manner, we are increasing our success in actually reaching them.  Today’s challenge is to write your own S.M.A.R.T. goal.

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