by Dr. Scott Briggs

Now that your “why” has been established it is time to delve into the “How”. This blog post also is not anything new. I would guess you have seen or heard this information more than once. I know I need to be reminded of this information regularly because I am terrible at doing this. Honestly I find this boring and often times very convicting because I find I don’t follow through. You have probably guessed by now that I am talking about goal setting. I know, I am with you, ugh! I hate this stuff. Stick with me though, this “stuff” is very important and anyone who has successfully accomplished a journey like the one we are on will tell you that writing down their goals is what got them there.

Before we visit the specifics of goal setting, I want to take a minute to reinforce the concept of this health challenge. This is not a weight loss challenge, this is YOUR “Health Challenge”. The lack of health takes on many differing forms. You need to evaluate your current health and where your health is a struggle. Addressing your struggles, that is your Health Challenge.

Now on to goal setting. First, goals need to be written down and then posted in many places where your are constantly seeing them and being reminded of them. Goals need to have five components. They must be “specific”, “measurable”, “achievable”, “relevant”, and “time bound”.

** Cindy’s Input: As a business professor, I have taught goal setting for over 20 years. The word SMART has become a part of my brain. SMART is what was explained above (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). And yes, this is so important. So to give you an example…. don’t just say “I want to lose weight”. Instead, you would want to say, “I want to lose 10 pounds by March 2022.” It is specific (10 pounds), you can measure it (scale), it is achievable (you aren’t saying you want to lose 100 pounds in 2 months), and it is time-bound (March). All of your goals should look this way.

Also, when you are making SMART goals, I tell people to take it a step further. Under each goal, put the reason this fits with your overall WHY. It is important to link this all together. Your WHY might be to feel better about yourself, well explain why losing those 10 pounds will make you feel better. ** back to Dr. Scott….

As we prepare to establish our goals let’s keep in mind that changes in health are not achieved quickly. In fact, it is my opinion that most of the health issues we face today stem from the current culture we live in that tells us “fast and convenient”, “easy and without sacrifice” are the standards that indicate quality of life. Look at our neighborhoods, our cities, our states, and our country, our collective health is worse than it has ever been and with each passing year new standards are set for poor health.

It is time we realize that our bad health did not occur overnight and achieving improved health will NOT be accomplished quickly or easily. I hate this fact as much as you do but this is where we are. It is time to get into the fight, and a fight this is and a fight it will be. I hope you feel like I do, this is a fight worth fighting. All this being said, your goals need to be set in months and years, not days and weeks. Doing this journey publicly is my way of enduring the months and years, being more open about your health challenges may just help you endure also.

Wishing you great health

Dr. Briggs

Dr. Scott Briggs is a chiropractor in Converse, Indiana. He has been in practice over 20 years in several different states. Dr. Briggs also specializes in pregnancy and infant chiropractic care. He lives in Marion, IN with his wife, Dr. Cindy Briggs and three children (and two dogs!) You can learn more at www.briggsfamilychiropractic.com.