Maintain New Year’s Resolutions Using The SMART Method

With 2023 just around the corner, many are making their New Year’s Resolutions.

Dr. Derrick Edwards is an associate professor of psychology at Tennessee Tech and a licensed counselor. He said when it comes to planning resolutions, one should do it the SMART way. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.

“What I would want people to hear more than anything is to have a level of kindness for yourself if you are trying to make a change of any kind in your life,” Edwards said. “Remember that habits are real and routine is something that we thrive on. so as we’re attempting to do these things, be okay with the fact that it might be a struggle.”

Edwards said many people tend to lose sight of their goals if they do not see immediate results. He said another way to see continued success is to find a support system.

For example, Edwards said in cases of people trying to lose weight, many will see better results if they surround themselves with people working towards the same goal, or have a sense of accountability.

“There’s no amount of setback that really restarts us if we set ourselves on a good path to start,” Edwards said. “The phrase I like to use is ‘grace abounds.’ When I have these setbacks when I’m not as nice to myself as I want to be. I need to remind myself that part of being nice to myself is saying I can make mistakes, I can make an error here and it doesn’t mean I’m going to fail always, it just means I’m going to make a mistake here and then I’m going to get back on it and I’m going to keep trying. A lot of persistence.”