I have decided to introduce a blog. I will be discussing all of the invigorating issues in physical therapy and healthcare in general. Over the next several months I will hammer on lifechanging issues. This blog is intended to be a conversation starter between my clients and my colleagues.
Today I am going to discuss setting and attaining goals, since around this time of year most people make “resolutions.” A goal is a destination, a place you want to be that you aren’t at yet. A ship without a destination is lost at sea – or maybe never leaves the harbor, which makes you question if it’s a ship at all if it’s not living up to its created being. We, as humans, must have something meaningful to strive towards – or else we too are lost at sea.
It is estimated the 189 million Americans make a new year's resolution each year. 46% of those Americans choose a resolution pertaining to health and 37% choose a topic pertaining to self-improvement. [1] An astounding number of individuals set a goal at the beginning of the year. It is estimated that only 8% of individuals will attain them. [2]
2023 is a new year, ripe for a new you. In physical therapy schools, one of the first topics they teach is how to help people set and attain achievable goals. Here’s my take.
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1. Write it down: The mere fact of writing the goal on a piece of paper increases the chances of attaining it by 42%. If you write it on a piece of paper and throw it in the trash and never look at it again. There is something incredibly powerful about the mere act of writing it to paper.
2. Make goals attainable and realistic: If the goal is entirely out of reach you will stumble very quickly and toss the idea aside – reverting to your old self. It appears this time of year people set the “weight loss” goal. There is nothing wrong with this goal and I understand the social and health pressures to set it. If the goal setter says “I want to lose 100#s.” If the person is 200 lbs currently, it’s unrealistic and unhealthy. If the goal setter is, say, 400 lbs, it could be attainable. Setting out to lose 100 lbs is a daunting task at first. But could be done. The weight loss goal, I believe, mostly fails logic because weight is nothing more than a number on a scale. Too often people lose lean muscle mass when trying to lose weight, which is ill advised. The true goals people should be setting should be to lower their A1C, cholesterol, blood pressure etc. – the true underlying systemic issues stemming from obesity.
3. Chunk the goal into smaller pieces: How do you eat an elephant? In small bites! What small choices do I have to meet the goal. The 100lb weight loss goal doesn’t look too bad if you are going to lose 1 lb/week for 100 weeks. Completing a 5K might seem too lofty, but is it lofty to increase the amount of time you’ve spent exercising by 10% each week until race day?
4. Measurable goals: Probably one of the biggest reasons people fail is they set goals that really can’t be measured. For instance: “I want to be less distracted by social media when I’m with my kids.” But they fail to assess, well, how much time they are currently distracted when they are with their kids. A better goal might be: “I will spend <5 minutes on social media/day when I’m at home.” At the end of the day, you can look and see if you met or failed.
5. Dealing with setbacks: If you lack self-control and cheat don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. I tell patients all the time: you get stronger just for making the attempt. Take some time to introspect and examine what caused you to cheat. Was it lack self-control? Was it being around social pressures that caused you to sip that whiskey that you were trying to avoid? Have an honest dialect with yourself. You should be honest with yourself, and you should also be kind to yourself. Two steps forward and one step backwards is still forward progress.
6. Time: You should set a deadline. The true nexus of goals is that you are striving for it. If you set a goal to get up from the couch but continue to lay, there you aren't going to get anywhere.
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I have no doubt that 2023 will be the best year of my life. I’m going to run an Ironman triathlon with my pal from my first tour on active duty. I have ran an Ironman before, but I would like to set a personal record on this year completing the race in 13 hours and 15 minutes.
Last year I attempted to become a certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy specialties. This certification is the hardest exam I’ve ever taken. In fact, it is estimated that only 2-3 % of practicing physical therapist in the United States have completed the specialty exam/boards in their respective specialties. I failed the test by a nose hair. But 2023 is going to give me another chance at redemption. Instead of setting the non-specific goal of saying “ I want to provide better clinical care to the patients I serve.” My goal is to actually set myself in top percentile of those who possess a specialty certification from the American Board Of Physical Therapy Specialties.
I'm optimistic for 2023. I would be honored to be a part of your rehab journey.
I will end this blog with this quote: “happiness, wealth, and success are the byproducts of goal setting; they cannot be goals themselves.”
Cheers,
James Whitcher
Physical Therapist
[1] 2021 New Year's resolution statistics [INFOGRAPHICS] | finder.com [2] 4 Reasons To Make New Year’s Resolutions (Even If You Don’t Keep Them) (forbes.com)
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