The last session of Wellness Wednesday, which was held March 4, focused on setting achievable goals and finding motivation to set goals. 

Wellness Programs Coordinator Alexis Steptoe said humans set goals to challenge themselves or simply make improvements in their lives. Among the wellness elements, establishing a social network is a popular goal for students.

“Socialization is one that we actually see a lot with the wellness’s coaching program,” Steptoe said. “A lot of people are seeking out that social element.”

Steptoe said there are many pitfalls that can occur with goal setting, the most common barriers being time and stress. 

“Stress is one of the main reasons that people actually don’t complete their goals, and they fall through with their goals,” Steptoe said.

Steptoe said the SMART goal method can help students lay out goals that are both attainable and beneficial, but Wellness and Recreation built upon this method and created the SMARTER goal method. The acronym stands for: specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, timely, evaluate and reward.

Steptoe said people need to find ways to evaluate their progress in a goal, whether it be by looking at test scores or progress in a skill. The evaluation can either lead to rewards or readjustment, which consists of making changes or modifications to a goal to make it more obtainable. 

“I always highlight that reward does not have to be monetary or food based,” Steptoe said. “A lot of times, people will be like, ‘I’m going to go get a cupcake,’ or ‘I’m going to buy a new pair of boots.’ Yes, that can be a reward. Reward can also be the feeling of accomplishment, knowing that, ‘I tried something really hard, and I made that thing happen.’” 

Making a goal measurable and timely by establishing deadlines can especially help when setting a financial goal, according to Steptoe.

The workshop also included worksheets to create SMARTER goals and a personal evaluation of the six wellness elements: purpose, community, physical, social, emotional and financial.

Steptoe said the Wellness Evaluation portion of Wellness Wednesday is a good tool to figure out where goal-setting is needed and what aspects of your life need attention by seeing these areas visually. 

“There’s a star where you can say, ‘I want to do more of this,” Steptoe said. “I don’t actually eat three good meals a day. I find myself skipping a meal at breakfast because it’s a hectic day, so then we can use that to filter into setting a goal around getting that well-balanced nutrition.’” 

Taslim Ur Rashid, a graduate student in chemical engineering, has attended five Wellness Wednesdays, and said he enjoyed them all. His favorite was “Maximize Your Money with Tech.” One of his goals is to work on his dissertation.

Steptoe said other resources that can help with goal setting include the Counseling Center, personal training and campus events. A sleep challenge will happen in April, called “Pack to Sleep,” which is similar to the Hydrate the Pack Challenge. 

More information on goal setting can be found on the Wellness and Recreation website.