Happy New Year! We at CEEK hope you were able to relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends. CEEK is kicking off 2019 with a year of Wellness Challenges. We’ll be posting a new challenge every month. We hope you join in and let us know how it’s going here in the comments or on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Our first Wellness Challenge is all about goal setting: We challenge you to set goals for mental, physical, and spiritual wellness for 2019. Write them down and keep track of them throughout the year.

As we usher in a new year, we tend to reflect on the past year and what we would like to accomplish this new year. This is a good time set goals as individuals or as families. These goals can be personal, financial, educational, fitness/health related, or professional, among others.

Goal setting should start with an evaluation or a vision for your life and what you would like to do and accomplish. Research has shown that you are much more likely to accomplish your goals if you write them down. Always write your goals in the positive and be detailed about what you want to accomplish and how. To make your goals clear and attainable, they should be SMART[1]:

• Specific: Think about a defined area for improvement in terms of what, why, who, and where
• Measurable: Set beginning, middle, and end targets for your goal.
• Achievable/Attainable: Is your goal something that can be reasonably achieved with the resources you have available?
• Relevant: Is the goal relevant to you and the person you desire to be?
• Time-based: Set a timeframe (one month, six months, one year) around your goal so you can measure progress and success.

Using SMART will help you develop a plan and the motivation to achieve your goals. It is also helpful to share your goals with people who you know will help you and keep you accountable. Once your goals are set, review them on a regular basis to stay on track or modify them if needed.

Share your goals below in the comments or on Twitter and LinkedIn and keep us posted on your progress!

[1] Term attributed to Peter Drucker’s “Management by Objectives” concept