S.M.A.R.T Goal Setting for LIFE
By Erik Nieuwenhuis MS, PT St. Luke’s Rehab Services 402-412-4275 Nieuween@stlukes.org The WorkSmart and Get Fit Guy

The average person spends more time each year planning a vacation then they spend planning and reflecting on their life goals and purpose. Goal setting is a powerful motivating tool for personal progress to live a balanced life in Body, Mind and Spirit. Goals help keep you focused on what you want to accomplish in life and help you reduce stress by staying focused.

First, what is the definition of a goal? A goal is the ongoing pursuit of a worthy objective until accomplished. You must also allow for celebration of the accomplishment/ or goal that you set for yourself.

When I attended college at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, I was a founding father of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter “Sig Ep” and our motto was “The Balanced Man”. We looked for balance in all areas of Life; Body, Mind and Spirit. Some of my favorite memories of UNI were philanthropy events we took part in each year; The Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Bowl a Thon (January is National Mentoring Month and currently there are 80 boys on the waiting list for a mentor in Siouxland. I challenge you to step up to the task and mentor a youth from the Siouxland Community. I’ve had the pleasure of doing this two times in college at UNI and in Sioux City. It has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.), and the Diamond Vogel Paint a Thon for the United Way. The brotherhood and community gained along with the life lessons learned by serving others in the Cedar Falls/ Waterloo and Sioux City community have helped to shape me into the person that I am today.

A Sig Ep brother/ mentor of ours Tom Barton gave us an acronym for goal setting which I use and I highly recommend to all of you to use each year, SPE-SPIF. Which stands for Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Social, Professional, Intellectual, and Financial.

Before you set a goal make sure that you know the following; 1) The benefits of achieving the goal 2) Possible obstacles you might encounter 3) How you will overcome these road blocks and obstacles toward the progress of meeting your goal 4) What resources will you need to be successful in meeting your goal such as; information, equipment, people and support.

To further clarify the seven areas of living a balanced life. Spiritual includes religion, your relationship with God, community service, values and purposes for life. Physical is your health such as; fitness level, nutrition, and rest. Emotional includes family, intimate relationships (spouse), self esteem and self talk, and your own maturity. Social includes anything that is FUN, like family and friends and building/ strengthening relationships, vacations, and general recreation. Professional includes my overall career goals, and job goals. Intellectual means anything related to learning new things such as; reading books, learning another language, visiting museums, etc. Financial is money management, paying off debt, tithe, stewardship of your money and possessions.

Now you must make the goals you set for yourself S.M.A.R.T. which is specific, measurable, achievable, rewarded, and timed. A couple examples of SMART goals I set for myself this year are;

1) Physical--To have my hemoglobin A1C tested in Jan 06’ and done every 3 months (4 times in 06’) to maintain a 7.0 mg/dl (goal for diabetics by ADA) or less working towards 6.5 mg/ dl recommended by American Academy of Endocrinologists. Dr. Francisco Cruz is my endocrinologist (since I am a juvenile diabetic using a Medtronic minimed paradigm insulin pump) and Dr. Folchert is my family practice physician.
2) Physical—To strength train using our Bowflex, dumbbells, medicine balls, theraband/ tube 2 to 4 times each week for a minimum of 30 minutes to 90 minutes. To improve and/ or maintain my strength and body composition, reduce stress, improve my blood sugar control, and increase my energy level.
3) Physical—To eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day to improve my energy level, blood glucose control and prevent and reduce future health risks of cancer/ heart disease/ and complications of diabetes.
4) Mental—To write/ reflect in my journal 3 to 5 times each week on life events, goals, lessons learned, and scripture/ prayer.
5) Spiritual—To read the Bible daily (25 times each month) following the Navigators plan of daily discipleship to read through the Bible in 2006.
6) Spiritual—To continue leading the “Pump and Praise” Wellness Ministry at Sunnybrook Community Church on Saturday mornings at 8am and keep this at No Cost for members or to the public in 2006.

Goal setting is not a difficult process, but it does require some thought and evaluation. Write your SMART SPE-SPIF goals in a journal or notebook so you can stay focused or make any changes as life changes occur. Review them often and have them available so you can see them each week. Remember if you aim at nothing in life, you’ll hit it every time.