"Figure 1 . SMART Acronym Have you ever said to yourself that you need to “eat healthier” or “exercise more” to improve your overall health? How well did that work for you? In most cases, probably not very well. That’s because these statements are too vague and do not give us an y direction for what truly needs to be done to achieve such goals. To have a better chance at being successful, try using the SMART acronym for setting your goals (S= Specific, M= Measurable, A=Attainable, R= Realistic, T= Time - oriented): Specific – Crea te a goal that has a focused and clear path for what you actually need to do. Examples: • I will drink 8 ounces of water 3 times per day • I will walk briskly for 30 minutes, 5 times per week • I will reduce my soda intake to no more than 2 cans of soda per week Do you see how that is more helpful than just saying you will eat healthier or exercise more? It gives you direction. Measurable – This enables you to track your progress, and ties in with the “specific” component. The above examples all have ac tual numbers associated with the behavior change that let you know whether or not it has been met."