Adapted excerpt from A Plant-Based Life by Micaela Karlsen
In creating your own specific goals, an effective approach is to follow the SMART Goals model, a method widely used by clinicians and health educators to make goal setting more effective. The SMART acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-limited. The Sustainable Diet program uses SMART Goals to help improve your accountability, organization, and therefore your success.
There is one more important element to maximize your likelihood of successfully changing your diet—human connection. When you embark on any kind of change, it’s essential that you do so in connection with other people if you want the change to be lasting. Particularly because eating is a social behavior, dietary isolation can dampen the desire to continue for many people who were initially bursting with enthusiasm. We’ll discuss the power of community more in Step Five, including how and where to find a plant-based community if you don’t already have one, but at this point you no doubt have some fresh and inspired ideas about your life and your eating that need to be shared with someone who can support that vision and provide some structure that you can lean on during the transition. You might call this person a support buddy, an accountability partner, a coach, or just a good friend, but whatever you call them they have to have a few particular qualities:
So right now, while you’re thinking about this, make a list of the people you connect with for support and accountability. You don’t need to convince them to eat a plant-based diet. This is about you and about finding the right person to support your needs. Does anyone stand out? Starting with your top pick, reach out and share what you’re about to do. You can even approach more than one person if that feels right.
In creating your own specific goals, an effective approach is to follow the SMART Goals model, a method widely used by clinicians and health educators to make goal setting more effective. The SMART acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-limited. The Sustainable Diet program uses SMART Goals to help improve your accountability, organization, and therefore your success.