Goal Setting for Stress Management
Written by Rachel Cure @fittobecured
Let’s be honest, the world as we know it has changed a lot in the last few weeks, causing many of us stress! The unknown can be scary and frustrating. Although it’s easy to get swept up in the panic and worry, it is important to remember that there are still areas in our lives that we can control and thrive in! One of the best ways to inspire and monitor positive change in your life is to set some goals.
Introducing: SMART GOALS
When was the last time you set a goal and met that goal?
It could be something you do normally. In which case, give yourself a pat on the back! You are way ahead of us here. As a stay at home mom, I often get so swept up in the daily chaos that I forget about instituting small daily changes to make my life less stressful.
My preschooler and I are participating in a wellness study with CSU (Colorado State University) and the health coach keeps asking me to set goals each week. My initial reaction to this was “oh ok great, but NO THANKS”. However, in the spirit of being a good study participant, I grudgingly agreed to make a goal to better my health and wellness. And in the process, I realized I had forgotten how easy it is to make a goal when you do it the right way. When you set a SMART goal, it doesn’t have to be big or daunting. It can actually be small and simple, but still provide great fulfillment when accomplished!
For example, this last week, I set my goal for reducing stress and this is what it looked like:
My goal is to go to bed before 10pm every night this week. I will accomplish this by setting an alarm for 9pm to remind myself to stop what I am doing and get ready for bed. I will track my progress on my wall calendar placing a check on the days I met my goal.
This goal is
Specific,
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-based
Although I wasn’t excited about this goal, it really felt good when I was able to accomplish it! I felt like I had control over something and the power to make improvements to my well-being despite the stressful events happening. Oh, and by the way, I was a much nicer amateur homeschool mom after more sleep!
Goal setting is an important life skill and something you can get the whole family involved in. For our first week of homeschool, we set a goal of drinking 16oz of water before lunch. We were able to measure this easily by having the kids fill a water before school starts in the morning and making sure it was gone before lunch. Is this challenging? Not very! But we wanted the goal to be measurable and attainable and relevant to our mission of having a happy, healthy homeschool.
I would challenge you to take five minutes to identify one area in your life that causes stress or potential harm to your well-being that you can control. Now, make a SMART goal to help improve this aspect of your life for the next week! I hope that you are able to use this quick and easy goal setting technique to instill a sense of empowerment in yourself as well as your kiddos!
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