#FedLifeHacks, Feds In Motion Challenge, Health & Wellness

Moving SMART: Achieve Your Goals During the Feds in Motion Challenge

byDan Jackman/April 28, 2024

Two men and two women hold a plank position in the gym while smiling. Keeping true to your new year's resolution workout plan can be tough. We have some ideas to help make your resolution stick in the new year.

Empower Your Wellbeing: Our 3 experts share how to set SMART Goals and crush them during the Feds in Motion Challenge

As the 4th Annual Feds in Motion Challenge approaches, kicking off on May 1st, many of us are brimming with excitement to lace up our sneakers, hit the pool, or explore new ways to move our bodies. But with good intentions often comes the challenge of staying motivated and achieving our goals.

Last year year during the Challenge I set a target to add to my weekly running routine. While I hit my other movement targets, I missed out on my running goal.

So, why was I able to follow through with some goals while others were left behind?

At the start of the new year its estimated that 44% of Americans set goals or resolutions, but according to a Marist poll, just 9% successfully follow through with the entirety of their goal.

Unlike your resolution at the start of the new year it’s not all doom and gloom. With the right plan, you can set yourself up for success on your upcoming Feds in Motion journey.

Joining us in the conversation:

Picking the Right Goal

“Most resolutions or goals are born out of a recognition that we are engaging in a habit or pattern that is not healthy, or that is a barrier to being authentic to our values and recognizing our potential or purpose,” said Dr. Monica Jackman, an occupational therapist who works with both children and adults.

So, what makes the “right” resolution? “From an occupational therapy perspective, a “right” resolution is a behavior, action or way of responding to life’s challenges that is meaningful and aligned with personal values and interests,” said Dr. Jackman. “In turn these goals can be realistically integrated into your life routines as a healthy habit.”

Many people set goals with good intentions but they make four common mistakes which can prevent them from achieving them:

Adding new goals to their already busy lives as an extra thing to do, instead of integrating the behavior change into the rhythm and routine of their daily lives.
Choosing goals that are not realistic, attainable, personally meaningful, or in line with their intrinsic motivation for change.
Viewing the goal as something temporary that is a means to a finite measurable end goal, instead of viewing it as a healthy habit that becomes part of their way of living.
Making a goal to “stop” doing an unhealthy behavior without making a goal to start doing something else that will meet the need that the unhealthy or problematic coping pattern was trying to fulfill. For example, to stop yelling at your kids instead of start pausing before reacting when feeling angry at your kids.

A woman smiles at the camera. The words "Make Your Goals Stick with SMART Goals."

“The best thing for picking the ‘right’ goal is being realistic and starting small,” said Chelsea Mock, a registered Dietician and Health & Fitness Coach. “Many clients will choose weight loss and that’s not something that is going to happen overnight. Pick small and tangible one-day-at-a-time goals to start with that will aid you in getting to what you are trying to achieve long-term.”

Create Your Plan

Some may recognize the SMART Goal strategy from your time in college or even projects at work. SMART Goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. With a specific set of criteria, SMART Goals can help ensure that objectives are clearly defined, attainable and within a defined timeframe. Most importantly, by working through each step, you can identify instances where a priority or resource may not align with your overall goal.

Checkout our printable SMART goal workbook to aid you in your 2024 Feds in Motion goal setting.

SMART GOAL WORKBOOK

A good example of how a SMART Goal can apply in the development of your own goals is with the example of my failed goal of adding to my weekly running plan. This goal now makes its triumphant return to the goal list for 2024!

By applying the SMART Goal methodology, you can flesh out the specifics of the goal, the who, what, when, why, how, etc, something I did not previously do in 2023. Without a detailed roadmap for this goal, my enthusiasm quickly waned and fizzled out with little fanfare.

Here is what setting a SMART Goal could look like:

SMART Goals can assist you in making your resolutions stick

Specific
Instead of a vague goal like “get more exercise,” aim for something like “walk or bike for 30 minutes, 3 times a week during the Feds in Motion Challenge.”
Measurable
Track your progress using a fitness tracker or pedometer while logging your miles on your Feds in Motion Challenge profile.
Achievable
If you’re a beginner, starting with 30 minutes a few times a week is more achievable than aiming for an hour daily.
Relevant
This goal aligns with the Feds in Motion Challenge’s focus on incorporating movement into your life for improved health.
Time-Bound
The Challenge runs from May 1st through June 6th, providing a clear timeframe for achieving your goal.

The Feds in Motion Challenge is a springboard for long-term health and wellness. Here are some tips to keep the momentum going:

Habit Stacking: Pair your new activity with an existing routine. For example, listen to a podcast while walking or do some stretches while your coffee brews.
Find a Community: Join a walking group or connect with friends who share your fitness goals. Accountability can be a powerful motivator.
Be Kind to Yourself: Don’t get discouraged by setbacks. View them as temporary detours and recommit to your goals the next day.

By setting SMART goals and adopting these strategies, you can transform the Feds in Motion Challenge into a springboard for lasting health and well-being!

Leaping Over Barriers

Just because it is the start of the Challenge, doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right time for all of your goals.

“So much of what we do is so heavily influenced by our environments, whether physical, social, or temporal,” says Dr. Jackman. “For example, if we make a goal to start running around our neighborhood for exercise in the middle of winter, we may never achieve this goal because the timing and location aren’t conducive to success for a beginning runner.”

You don’t have to wait until spring to start running, but you will need to take into account the various barriers that may affect your plan when developing your SMART Goals. This may mean finding an indoor track during the extreme cold, waking up a little earlier to get a run in before getting the kids ready for school, working through the anxiety of a challenge that is outside of your comfort zone, or working with a trainer to help you develop a safe running and stretching routine.

Everyone has different barriers, but we all need to make an effort in some way to structure and organize our time according to our values, barriers, and overall goals.

Another barrier to success on your journey is in the day-to-day consistency with your new goal or routine. “Habit stacking is a great way to add something to your routine,” said Molly Ontiveros, a licensed therapist and director of wellness programming for high school students.

So, what does habit stacking look like? “If you want to drink more water, have a cup of water while your coffee is brewing. If you want to meal prep more, save a specific TV show that you only watch while meal prepping,” explains Ontiveros. “Rather than cutting out junk food, add something like carrots to your plate alongside the chips, or fruit alongside chocolate.”

Find a Community

Setting up a community and space supporting towards reaching your goal can lead to better success than going at it alone.

Accountability from those joining on your journey is key, explains Mock. “Community equals accountability. That accountability can be motivating to have someone check in and make sure everything is ok.”

“I think the new year is a great marker for reflecting on the past year’s wins and challenges and setting intentions or goals for the year to come,” said Ontiveros. “Doing that with friends or family members can be a great exercise. Asking each person to identify their ‘win’ for the past year before even focusing on the next year can be pretty challenging. Throughout the year, sharing wins with your community can be an excellent way to stay motivated to keep up a change.”

What If You Miss Your Goal?

New Year’s resolvers are a great example. Those setting resolutions at new years typically report making the same pledge for 5 years or more before they manage a 6-month success. For those who fail this year, 60% will make the same resolution again next year. But it’s not all doom and gloom, right? That’s why you have read this article to this point, to work towards success with your goal(s) during the Challenge in 2024.

But, even with a well thought out and developed goal there will be tough days or even weeks or months. Here are the final thoughts from our experts as you embark on your journey.

Dr. Monica Jackman, Occupational Therapist & Author
Resolutions, or goals to make a behavioral change, are like trying to carve a new path into the earth with a wheelbarrow that has been going the same exact route for so long that it sits comfortably in a smoothed-out path with deep ruts for the wheels that make it effortless to maneuver. The path itself may go through dangerous or unpleasant territory, but it is familiar and easy.

When we start a new habit, it’s like taking a new route over rocks, roots, and terrain that is unfamiliar and harder to navigate. It is effortful and uncertain. But if we keep at it, we can create a new path, a safer and more effective path that may even have a better view. Some days, this hard work may be so exhausting that it exceeds the effort you have inside you, and you find yourself slipping back to that easier route, into the same old ruts. This is ok- it is a temporary and forgivable detour. Give yourself the same compassion that you would give to a friend who has stumbled.
Molly Ontiveros, Licensed Therapist
People tend to take on a very shame based approach when they ‘fail,’ beating themselves up for not being able to stick with something or not being good enough. If we instead give ourselves grace with our goals then we are able to stick with it. Life gets in the way sometimes and we aren’t always able to stick with something. Maybe we get sick and fall off our workout routine or we give into an old habit we were trying to break. Allowing ourselves to mess up and take on an “oh well, let’s try again tomorrow” approach is more sustainable.

I’ve talked with a lot of clients recently about naming the ‘Hypercritical Coach’ in their head (think the coach who only ever yells at you) to help them recognize that style of coaching almost never works. When folks can identify the coaches, teachers, or mentors in their life that they have learned or grown best with, they can say it is a coach who is supportive and encouraging even when pointing out ways they can improve. We can cultivate that “Kind Coach’ voice in our own head.
Chelsea Mock, Licensed Dietician and Health & Fitness Coach
Don’t get frustrated. With anything you have to take the good with the bad. There are ebbs and flows, but the biggest thing is not to give up. If you slip, accept it, realize that doesn’t mean you can’t get back up, just start fresh the next day. Each day is a new opportunity, whether to restart or inch a little closer to your goals.

On behalf of all of us at FEEA, we would like to thank you for joining us for the Feds in Motion Challenge!

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