SMART goals vs FUN goals? Why I'm team FUN
We’re reaching that point in the year where the fortitude for your New Year’s Resolutions may be slipping. Maybe you didn’t make a formal resolution, but you had intentions surrounding work or your personal life that haven’t quite made it off the ground in the way you’d hoped. Some would push you towards goals that are SMART (introduced in 1981 to mean Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) or SMARTER (adding Evaluation and Review or Reward). Or the newer FAST model (Frequently discussed, Ambitious, Specific and Transparent) for goal-setting, which is mostly just adding discussion and transparency to the SMART goals model. These are all fine models if they are sufficiently motivating for you.
If not, I’m going to advocate for making your goals more FUN–Flexible, Uplifting, and Numberless. Author and disability rights activist Emily Ladau coined this idea for the start of 2022, with the notion that it’s a way to focus on progress while remaining kind to ourselves. Without actually hearing that term, I was subconsciously making that shift as well. I vowed to read fewer books to make room for other activities. I made plans with friends to run a half-marathon and complete an Olympic-distance triathlon, having not done any regular cardio for the prior 7 years, just because it sounded like I might enjoy it.
Here’s why more fun is important. I was jogging the other day and overheard one lady asking another if she was still doing a certain exercise class, and she replied something to the effect of “[eyeroll] yes, I hate it, but it burns a lot of calories.” Yikes. Life is too short to slog through something you hate because it burns a lot of calories. Plenty of things burn a lot of calories. Singing at the top of your lungs and dancing in your living room for a half-hour burns a lot of calories. The best exercise for you is something you enjoy enough to stick with it. Moving your body should feel good, not feel like punishment. Improved strength, stability, and mobility are goals that will serve you well for the rest of your life regardless of your calorie burn and the numbers on the scale.
But that’s just my opinion–what does the science say? Positive affect supports the maintenance of behavior. That is, when you like how you feel when you perform a task, you are likely to continue completing that task routinely. To be clear, few of us are able to completely escape tasks that we ultimately don’t enjoy, but there are usually aspects to them that we can make more enjoyable. And whether our goal is hitting sales targets, improving fitness, or being more present with our loved ones, how we get there can take many forms. Keep being ambitious, but make it as pleasant as possible and enjoy the journey. If you love measurable numbers, by all means use them, but don’t let chasing them steal your joy.
So how did things work out for me last year with the FUN approach? Well, I was very intentional about selecting the books I read and enjoyed all 35 of them, collectively more than the higher quantity of books I consumed the year before. And I absolutely loved getting back into recreational racing, completing not one but two half-marathons with my friend, and two shorter triathlons in addition to the Olympic distance one I’d planned, all without getting injured! I can’t tell you how many calories I burned, or my finish times, but I can tell you those metrics have never felt less important. I felt strong and grounded while parenting my two young children, nourishing my adult friendships, coaching 2nd grade girls' soccer, starting up two businesses, helping my husband navigate his first major injury, and unexpectedly losing my mother. And that's what matters, friends.
If you want help cutting through distractions to better focus on your goals while keeping it FUN, join our free Player’s Club email list to find out when our new pieces drop. When paired with our guide, our jewelry becomes a tool that helps you concentrate on what is most important to you while creating a life you love.
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