In order to improve, goal setting is essential. Creating a goal to work towards allows you to focus on what actions you can take to achieve that goal.

In the context of CBT, goals provide a reason to engage in treatment. Reflect on what you’d like to change about your life, specifically in regard to pain management. Are there activities you wish you could do? What has pain held you back from?

Try imagining waking up tomorrow and running a race. That seems silly, right? Unless you have already been training for a race, it is quite unrealistic. Runners get to their level by making small, achievable goals. When they reach their goal, they make another one. Eventually, they get to a competitive level.

It’s simple to say, “I want to be pain free and do everything I used to be able to do.” However, it’s unrealistic. How do you get there? How long would that take? What would you have to do?

The SMART model is a way to create actionable goals. SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Let’s look at this in more detail.

Specific:

The goal must be clear. Leave vagueness behind. When making your goal, consider the “what, why, who, and where” of your problem. What are you trying to achieve? Why is this important to you? Who might be involved? Where is this situated? Be descriptive.

For example, “I want to be out of pain” is not very specific. A better alternative might be: “I want to reduce the frequency of pain flare-ups in my elbow so that I can play sports at least twice a week by next year.”

Here, the “what” is reducing the frequency of pain flare-ups. The “why” is so you can play sports more. The “who” is you. The “where” is the pain in your elbow.

Measurable:

You must be able to track your progress. Otherwise, how would you know if you reached your goal? This is the quantifiable part of the goal.

In the above example, this could be ‘number of pain flare-ups/week’. Even better, it could be ‘number of times you were able to play sports/week.’ It’s best not to focus your goal too much on the pain.

Attainable:

The goal has to be realistic and achievable. Yes, the goal should challenge you; however, it should not be impossible. Is this something you have the time for? Do you see any other barriers that might stop you from achieving it? It’s important to consider these.

For example, you may have regular pain flare-ups that make playing sports difficult (but not impossible). However, if you also have a broken leg right now, this goal is not attainable.

Relevant:

This goal must matter in your current situation. To assess this, ask yourself, “does this matter to me right now?”. Consider your time and place. Are you able to take this on right now? Do you possess the motivation to do it? Does this align with the goals of those around you?

For example, if you are about to have a baby, is it the right time to be prioritizing sports? Can this goal change to incorporate that milestone?

Time-Bound:

Time must be considered. When would you like to achieve this goal by? How often will you work towards this goal? Make a deadline. Create a schedule.

The above goal is bound by time. This goal aims to be achieved in the next year. For your goal, it is up to you. Maybe you want to achieve this goal in two weeks or maybe you want to achieve it in five years.

Practice 

This lesson comes with a SMART Goals worksheet. Download the worksheet to practice writing your SMART goals. The worksheet will help you understand what you have to do to reach your goal. Additionally, there is a SMART Goals Progress Tracker. This worksheet will help you track how you are working towards achieving your goal that week. You will reflect on what you did well and what you can do to improve the following week.

Reflect

What are some of your pain management goals? Take time to focus on what you’d like to achieve specifically and when. What are some small steps you can take to achieve these goals?

Can you think of a goal you had in the past that you failed to achieve? Reflect on why you did not achieve this goal, considering the SMART model. What could you have done differently to get a better result?

In the next lesson, you will learn about some techniques to help you rethink the way you tackle your to-do list.

Take the next quiz to proceed.