CAMP RIPLEY, Minn. – Another year has passed, and like many others, Soldiers in the Minnesota National Guard are creating goals and New Year’s resolutions for 2025. The Holistic Health and Fitness, or H2F, program provided some advice on how to keep up with those New Year’s resolutions so that Soldiers can achieve their goals and improve their overall health through one of their monthly Microsoft Teams Live events.

“It’s important to be honest with yourself when creating goals,” said Army Chaplain Michael Rivera. “Creating changes may lead you to new paths, deeper connections, and transformative experiences. As Maya Angelou beautifully stated, nothing will work unless you do. The quote reminds us that while chance may offer us opportunities, our effort and willingness to engage, learn, adapt, and persist ultimately lead to meaningful change.”

Rivera said that creating specific, measurable, attainable, revisable, and timely goals is important and valuable in ensuring that change is achievable and that New Year’s resolutions don’t fizzle out. These goals are also known as SMART Goals, and one of the first steps to reaching them is to reword them to be more positive while also including the five domains of holistic health: physical, mental, nutrition, sleep, and spiritual.

 “When we’re only giving things up, it can make it feel like an exercise in deprivation and punishment, and instead, we should set our goals as something that we’re adding in,” said Amber Boyens, an H2F dietitian. “For example, in nutrition, we eventually run out of room for the negative language. Overall, we will have a more positive, encouraging, enjoyable experience as we set these goals if we shift away from them being small punishments.”

Brandon Saude, an H2F consultant, said that SMART goals can start small but should create a clear path to a desired outcome. A Soldier can go through the process of creating specific behavior-oriented outcomes which include the five domains of holistic health. This process can assist with any New Year’s resolution.

“The letter ‘R’ in SMART stands for revisable. Revisable goals allow you to adjust them along the way. Before we get into it, just think for a minute how many times have you set a goal for yourself and the main reason why you stopped pursuing that goal,” said Saude. “Revising your goals enables you to daily align what’s happening in real time to what your objectives are. Rather than pulling the plug altogether.”

During the event, Rivera shared the word of the day, ‘change’ with participants, to help summarize the support of a SMART goal and holistic health. By accepting change in a positive way and applying holistic health within a SMART goal, Soldiers can achieve their New Year’s resolutions and any other goals they have.

“Embracing change can mean opening yourself up to life’s possibilities and recognizing that every moment presents an opportunity for growth and discovery,” said Rivera. “It encourages us to take risks, step outside our comfort zones, and welcome the unexpected. Trusting that great things can emerge from taking a chance.”

Soldiers who are interested in learning more about how Holistic Health and Fitness helps Service Members reach their goals can contact DessaRae Smith or Corey Gregor with the H2F team through their emails, here: dessarae.n.smith.nfg@army.mil and corey.j.gregor.mil@army.mil.

Story by Staff Sgt. Jorden Newbanks

Minnesota National Guard Public Affairs