"If you‘re bored with life – you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals." - Lou Holtz

I chose to begin this article with this quote because many students, including myself, have either felt this way in the past or are currently feeling this way. As naturopathic students we are hardly ever short of things that keep us busy. These include assignments, studying and not to mention a fairly heavy course load. With all of these things to do, in addition to other personal every-day commitments, one can easily feel overwhelmed at times and lose sight of some of the things that add meaning and joy to life. If you have lost sight of these and sometimes feel like you are just drifting along aimlessly, then setting goals might be your answer to regaining focus on the things that are most important to you. But simply setting goals is not enough because there is no point in setting lots of goals and never achieving them. In this article I will show you how to set SMART goals in a way that will guarantee you to succeed. But before getting to that let me just explain the power of goal setting and remaining focus.
 
According to TheFreeDictionary.com, focus can be defined as the following: the concentration of attention or energy on something. They also define it as the degree of clarity with which an eye or optical instrument produces an image. I like the second definition but I would modify it by defining focus as the degree of clarity with which a person produces an image. This is because the more clearly you can visualize what it is that you want, the easier it will be for you to see and stay focused on the end result. And your goals will provide you with the motivation and a path to achieving your desired outcome. Think of goals as the fuel necessary to keep your fire burning or your GPS that will guide you to where you want to be. All you have to do is state them and work toward accomplishing them.
 
So how exactly do you set goals in a way that will guarantee you to achieve them? The answer is to set SMART goals. This is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, reason and time-stamped. Specific means that your goals should be very clearly defined in as many ways possible. For example if your goal is to go to get more sleep, then you should be specific about how much sleep you want to get per night, the time at which you want to go to bed, etc. Once you have done that, you then need to make check to see if your goal is measurable. This will allow you to track your progress toward achieving your goal. If your aim is to lose 15 pounds by the end of the month, then weighing yourself on a scale can be a good way to see determine if you are on track or not. The next step is to make sure your goal is attainable. Ask yourself is this realistic or how likely is this to occur given your current situation. As an example, if your goal is to run and finish a marathon in the next 5 days, but you have trouble making it around the block, then it is highly unlikely that you will achieve this goal. Now you need to state your reason for wanting to attain this goal. This is the most important component for setting SMART goals because it is the fuel that will keep you moving toward your goal, especially when things get rough. Sounds familiar? This is the motivation aspect that was discussed earlier. Lastly, your goal needs to be time-stamped, meaning that you should set a specific day and time at which you wish to achieve your goal. This adds a bit of urgency and most importantly helps to prevent procrastination. 
 
So there you have it. If you need to add more focus and direction to you daily life, then consider setting goals the SMART way to guarantee your success. You might start waking up in the morning with a burning desire to do things and get started with your day.

References

• "The SMART Goal System: How to Make College the Best Investment of Your Life." Les Hewitt, Andrew Hewitt & Luc d'Abadie. The Power of Focus for College Students. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications, Inc., 2005. 131-136.
• The American Heritage^® Science Dictionary. The Free Dictionary. 2005. 13 01 2012 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/focus

Ryan Lewis, BSc

Ryan is in his second year at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM). He received his undergraduate education in biology from Concordia University, located in Montreal, Quebec. His hobbies include soccer and martial arts. Ryan is also interested in rheumatology, pain management, nutrition, self-improvement and motivating others to reach higher potentials. One of his major goals is to be able to empower others with the knowledge and confidence they need to take control of their health.

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