Goal Setting Worksheet

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Rehabilitation is most successful when we have a goal in mind. The more specific the goal, the easier it is to know when it has been achieved.

Writing down the goal does the following:

  • increases the chances that you will remember the goal
  • increases the chances that others know your goal and can help to support you
  • helps increase your commitment to that goal.

It is important that your goal is meaningful to you and is something that you really want to achieve.

Your goal may be based on an outcome – e.g. being able to do press ups, or it may be based on a behaviour e.g. Pilates 3 x per week.

To set your goal:

goal 1, goal 2, goal 3...

Now see if you can make this goal into a SMART goal. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.

To turn your goals into SMART goals – ask yourself the following questions?

How will you make that goal specific, rather than general?

How will you know when you have achieved that goal – is it measurable?

Is this goal achievable or do you need to re-evaluate and choose something more manageable? Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether a goal is achievable so this is something you may need to adjust as you go – or ask for advice from an expert.

Is this goal realistic – given the time, resources and support that you have?

Is this goal time-bound – have you defined the time frame over which this goal should take place? This is an important part of committing to your goal – otherwise it may never happen!

To help you – have a look at the following:

Here are some examples of general goals -

  • Get stronger
  • Get more flexible
  • Get a stronger core
  • Get fitter

These goals are too general and vague – there is no way to know what we mean by ‘stronger’ and ‘fitter’ and we have no way of knowing when these things have been achieved.

Here are some examples of some more specific SMART goals -

  • Being able to walk up 3 flights of stairs unaided within 6 weeks.
  • Being able to get down on the floor to play with grandchildren within 12 weeks.
  • Being able to walk one mile continuously on the flat in less than 20 minutes.
  • Being able to run continuously for 5 minutes, pain free.
  • Being able to carry out a home strength training programme three times per week within 10 weeks.
  • Being able to do 5 full press ups within 6 months of surgery.
smart goal 1, smart goal 2, smart goal 3...
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