Setting Goals for the New Year
What are your goals for 2025?
In this episode, let’s take some time to reflect on the year ahead. What do you want to achieve? What do you hope to change?
Whether it’s pursuing a fitness goal like running a 5K, building a habit like reading one book a month, or tackling a career milestone like earning a promotion, we’ll set New Year’s goals and resolutions together.
I’ll guide you through using the SMART Framework to create clear, actionable goals and craft a plan for success. Along the way, I’ll share some of my favorite inspirational quotes to keep you motivated. Let’s make 2025 a year of progress and purpose.
Turning Intentions into Achievable Goals for the New Year
Setting goals for the new year often begins with an idea or intention—a wish to achieve something better. But without structure, these wishes remain just that—dreams. By using the SMART goal framework, your aspirations can become actionable and achievable objectives.
The first step in this process is to make your goal specific. Vague goals like “I want to be healthier” lack clarity. What does being healthier mean to you? Does it involve improving your blood pressure, increasing your energy, or losing weight? Define exactly what you aim to achieve.
Take another common example: wanting to read more. While this intention is commendable, it’s not specific. Does reading one book count? What about online articles? A clearer goal could be “I want to read 20 books in 2025.” This level of specificity provides direction and sets the stage for measurable progress.
By narrowing down your focus and clearly defining what success looks like, you transform your goals into something tangible—something you can work toward with purpose.
Turning Ambitions into Action
The next step in setting effective goals is to make them measurable. Ambitions like “doing more” or “doing less” are too broad and undefined. Ask yourself: How much more? How much less? What specifically are you measuring?
For example, if your goal is to eat more fruits and vegetables, define what “more” means. Is it one extra serving per week? Or are you aiming for the recommended five servings a day? Having a clear metric helps you track progress and stay accountable.
Whether it’s improving blood work, walking a certain number of steps daily, or losing a percentage of body weight, measurable targets give structure to your plans. Even goals around sleep can be quantified. For instance, are you aiming for seven, eight, or nine hours of sleep per night? And how will you track it—using a sleep app, a smartwatch, or simply a journal?
Ultimately, measurable goals make it easier to monitor your progress and celebrate milestones along the way.
Choosing Relevant Goals
So, the next step is to ensure your goal is relevant. Is it meaningful to your life? Does it align with your values and priorities?
A few years ago, I set a goal to master splits and track it on social media. At the time, it felt achievable and realistic, but as I progressed, I started to experience injuries and lost interest. Despite using the SMART goal framework, the goal just wasn’t relevant to my life. Unlike running a marathon, which felt meaningful and rewarding, the splits were more of a novelty—fun, but not essential to my well-being or personal growth.
On the other hand, setting goals like reading more nonfiction aligns with my desire for personal development and relaxation. It provides value and serves a purpose, making it easier to stay motivated.
In the end, a meaningful goal should enhance your overall well-being and reflect what genuinely matters to you. If a goal isn’t adding value or improving your life, it might be worth reevaluating and making adjustments.
Setting Timeframes to Drive Progress
The final step in setting a SMART goal is to make it time-bound by attaching a specific timeframe. Without this, a goal risks remaining just an idea or aspiration, with no clear path forward.
For example, “I want to lose weight” lacks direction without a timeline. When do you plan to achieve it? Adding a timeframe, like “I want to lose 10 pounds within six months,” creates structure and accountability. Similarly, if your aim is to read more books, defining a period—such as “20 books this year”—provides a way to track progress throughout the months, whether it’s June, November, or year’s end.
Timeframes can vary depending on the nature of your goal. Short-term targets might require weeks, while larger ambitions could need months or even years. The key is to choose a timeframe that fits your goal, ensuring focus and motivation as milestones are met.
The Power of Commitment
Committing to a goal is what turns an idea into reality. I like how Robin Arzon, a Peloton instructor, underscores this principle: 'I might want to do a triathlon someday, but I haven’t decided to do it. When I decide, I’ll commit, and I’ll make it happen.
This approach emphasizes how commitment can drive meaningful change. Many aspirations remain unfulfilled until there’s a concrete decision to act. Setting a start or finish date makes this commitment tangible, pushing you toward consistent progress.
So, ask yourself: When will you begin? When do you aim to reach your target? Establishing a timeframe is a critical step in turning goals into achievements.
Creating a SMART Plan
Once you establish your SMART goal, the next step is creating a solid plan. This plan is your guide to achieving your goal.
For health-related goals, this may involve starting with a doctor's visit to assess your weight, blood pressure, and blood work. For financial goals, meeting with a financial planner or creating and sticking to a budget may be necessary.
If it’s a fitness goal, consider whether you need a personal trainer, a fitness app, or a specific program like GLP Strong, my program designed to help individuals build muscle and lose weight through resistance training.
Your plan should include clear actions—who will help you, what steps you’ll take, and when and where you’ll take them. Additionally, be specific about what you’ll do—whether it’s running, walking, using workout videos, or engaging in strength training. Define every detail to ensure progress toward your goal.
The Power of “Why”
Once you’ve set your SMART goal and created a solid plan, the next step is to stay motivated. Motivation is what keeps you moving forward, especially when things get tough or progress feels slow.
For example, if your goal is to improve your health, it’s important to remind yourself why this goal matters. Whether it’s increased energy, better blood work, or a sense of well-being, keeping the "why" in mind will help you stay motivated.
Similarly, tracking your progress can be a powerful motivator. For example, if your goal is fitness-related, noting achievements like completing an extra set or running a longer distance helps you see how far you've come. Celebrating these small wins keeps you energized and driven, reminding you that every step forward is a step closer to your goal. Regularly reflecting on your progress also reinforces positive habits, making it easier to stay consistent over time.
Adjusting Goals and Embracing Progress
Sometimes, achieving goals doesn't go as planned, and that’s okay. I recently worked with a physician who faced this challenge. She was used to clear benchmarks of success, like those in med school or residency, but found personal goals—like launching her own practice—less predictable.
When goals don’t unfold as expected, it’s an opportunity to reassess. Is the goal still meaningful? Was it too ambitious? Adjusting goals doesn’t mean failure; it means adapting to the situation. For instance, if you planned to run a marathon but an injury limits you to a 5K, completing that is still a remarkable accomplishment.
Progress, even when it looks different than imagined, is still progress. It’s not always about reaching the stars—landing on the moon is still a step forward. Embracing flexibility and acknowledging growth allows for recalibration and ensures you stay on track, even if the path changes along the way.
As we step into 2025, remember that goal-setting is more than just writing down aspirations; it’s about creating a roadmap for progress. Whether your journey involves refining habits, embracing new challenges, or reevaluating goals along the way, each step forward is a step worth celebrating.
Stay committed, remain flexible, and focus on the "why" behind your goals. Progress might not always look like you planned, but it’s still progress. Here’s to a year filled with purpose, growth, and meaningful achievements!
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