By Dan Schnock, Wounded Warrior Project National Alumni Director
2018 Keep Your 2018 Resolutions All Year with SMART Planning and High-Tech Tools
Wounded Warrior Project Empowers Injured Veterans to Achieve Recovery Goals
Keeping your New Year’s resolutions and intentions for the whole year is difficult for everyone. It’s an uphill climb, and especially so for recovering veterans. But with Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), some simple planning, and the aid of modern technology, you’ve got a fighting chance to succeed. It has been reported that nearly 80 percent of resolutions fail by the second week of February, so if one of your resolutions is to “keep my resolutions going all year,” we’ve got some techie tools and tips to help you maintain your self-discipline. Most resolutions fade away before the first flowers of spring because most people don’t break their large, well-intentioned goals into smaller, more achievable accomplishments. Be clear about what you want to accomplish. For long-term success of your recovery goals, use the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) goal process. 22
HOMELAND / January 2018
Specific Think of your recovery goal(s) in performance terms. For example, if you want to exercise more, your target might be “to reduce the time it takes me to walk around the block every morning for the next two months.” If you want to lose weight and improve your dietary habits, your goal might be “to lose five pounds by January 31 by eating a balanced diet and cutting out red meats.” Measurable Make your goals measurable so you’ll know when it has been accomplished. For example, the daily walk time goal mentioned above is easily measured. Later we’ll tell you about some tech tools that make timing and measuring your activities much easier.