Applying SMART Goals to Improve Mental Health and Achieve Personal Well-Being

In my piece on New Year’s resolutions, I briefly mentioned SMART goals, but this critical approach to goal setting deserves a closer look. Goal setting can be a powerful tool for enhancing mental health and overall well-being. By using SMART goals, we can shift from feeling stuck or unmotivated to moving toward a healthier and more fulfilling path.

So, what are SMART goals? SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (or Realistic), and Time-Bound. These principles provide a structured way to break down large aspirations into actionable steps, making it easier to achieve meaningful progress.

For example, many people set a goal to lose weight around the New Year. A SMART version of this goal might be: "I will walk for 15 minutes around my block every day after work but before sunset." This approach takes a broad ambition—losing weight—and transforms it into a clear, manageable action that can be integrated into daily life. Taking small, consistent steps like this not only makes achieving the larger goal more realistic but also builds momentum for long-term success.

However, while SMART goals are a fantastic tool, they’re most effective when you’re motivated. Motivation plays a significant role in whether you stick to your goals. Motivation can be intrinsic, where the activity itself is personally rewarding, or extrinsic, where you’re driven by an external reward.

Intrinsic motivation might come from enjoying how a daily walk clears your mind or improves your mood. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation could include losing weight to feel more confident on dates, participating in a SMART fitness challenge to spend time with friends, or working toward a trophy. Recognizing whether your motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic can help you set goals that align with your values and keep you engaged in the process.

It’s important to note that people battling depression often lack motivation, which is a key symptom listed in the DSM criteria for a clinical depression diagnosis. This lack of motivation can make it even harder to engage in healthy behaviors. However, even when motivation is absent, taking action is crucial. Pushing yourself to use a coping skill—even when you don’t feel like it—can help you break free from the grip of depression.

This is where SMART goals can be incredibly helpful. For instance, if you’re battling depression and feeling unmotivated, setting a goal like, “I will call one friend to schedule lunch or dinner with me by 11:00 am today,” can provide a clear, actionable step to help you reconnect with others and improve your mood. Small, achievable goals like this can serve as building blocks to reclaiming a sense of purpose and well-being.

In my clinical practice, I often rely on SMART goals to help clients improve their mental health. For example, clients struggling with low self-esteem frequently engage in harsh and critical self-talk. To address this, I assign homework using an ABC worksheet. On this worksheet, clients write down their thoughts, the triggering scenario, and the feelings or behaviors that resulted. Then, they challenge those thoughts by identifying cognitive distortions and reframing them.

Although completing a worksheet every time they experience critical self-talk might be ideal, it’s often unrealistic. This is where SMART goals become invaluable. For instance, we might set a goal for the client to complete the worksheet at a specific time each day—such as every morning, writing about three incidents from the previous day, or during their lunch break. By making the goal specific and manageable, clients are more likely to follow through.

To further support this habit, we might set a reminder on their phone for the chosen time. This ensures that the client knows when and how they will complete the task, making it realistic and achievable. While filling out worksheets isn’t the most exciting task, breaking it into actionable steps and using SMART goals increases the likelihood of consistency. The result? Clients engage in practical steps to challenge their cognitive distortions and improve their mental health.

In conclusion, SMART goals are a simple yet powerful tool for taking meaningful action toward improving mental health and achieving personal growth. Whether you're working on overcoming depression, improving self-esteem, or tackling any other challenge, the structured approach of SMART goals can provide clarity, motivation, and achievable steps forward. Remember, even the smallest, most consistent steps can lead to significant changes over time. So take the time to set your goals thoughtfully—and let SMART goals guide you toward a healthier and more fulfilling life.