Are Your Goals SMART?

There is a lot of talk around today about goal setting, getting priorities straight, and discovering and achieving our purpose. As I talk with people, I find many don't know how to set a goal, and when they do set goals, they find motivation falls away quickly to achieve it. So how can goals be set that are real, sustainable, and can be achieved? The answer is SMART Goals.

SMART Goals are goals that bear a resemblance to life. SMART Goals give you a real direction and purpose and let you know when you have achieved the goal, leading to a sense of satisfaction, achievement, and motivation to go higher and further than you ever thought possible. SMART Goals keep you on track! So, what is a SMART Goal?

SMART is an acronym, with each letter being a key component of ensuring your goal has a real bearing on your life or project. The concept is to take each goal and put it through the SMART process, helping to make the goal clearer and easier to achieve. As we unpack the SMART Goal process, let's modify two common goals into SMART Goals to see what a difference the process can make.

Goal 1: To lose weight

Goal 2: To be a better person

How do we know we are a better person? How do we know how much weight to lose? Let's run these through the SMART Goal process to move closer to success.

Specific – Is the goal specific, or is it too general? By being specific, you can focus on the outcome without ambiguity, allowing you to focus your attention in the right direction, leading to a greater sense of achievement when you reach the goal.

Measurable – Is the goal measurable? Can you tell when you have achieved it? We have added specificity to it; now, we need to ensure we can measure the point of achievement. When we look at our two example goals, are they specific and measurable? To amend these to be Specific and Measurable, they could be changed as follows:

Goal 1: To lose 10 kg

Goal 2: To compliment someone

Achievable – Can you achieve what is set before you? Is it something you think you can do? This is about your will – do you really want to do it? I once set myself the goal of playing guitar, yet I discovered when I started playing that I didn't want to put the work in to do it. I liked the idea of playing guitar but didn't want to pay the price of practicing to achieve it. Think about your goal – do you really want to do it, or do you just like the idea of doing it? And is your goal achievable for you? Do you really believe you can do it?

Realistic – Can you realistically achieve the goal? Is it within your capabilities to do it? People often set themselves goals in a time frame (see next point) they can't realistically achieve. They push the limits past what is realistic and lose momentum, focus, and belief when they start to hit obstacles. Ensure in setting the goal, you can realistically achieve what you aim for and that you believe you can achieve it.

Timed – Does your goal have a time frame? Every goal needs to be bound by a time frame to ensure there is accountability and motivation to achieve it. If there is no time frame, there is no urgency in achieving the goal, and it will remain unachieved. Set a clear time frame for achieving your goal, but ensure it is realistic. Bill Gates once said, "Most people overproject what they can achieve in a year and underproject what they can achieve in 5 years". Don't be afraid to add a little extra time to your goal if it means you can realistically achieve it and keep you motivated. You don't want to burn yourself out with too severe a time frame, but you also don't want to give too loose a deadline so that you lose motivation.

So, if we look at our original two goals:

Goal 1: To lose weight

Goal 2:To be a better person

We can see that these goals are not specific, measurable, or timed, and it is not clear when they will be achieved, so it is unrealistic to think there will be any motivation to achieve them.

However, if we were to rewrite them as SMART Goals, they may look something like this:

Goal 1: To lose 10 kg over the next 12 months through a daily exercise program and a healthy eating program.

Goal 2: To genuinely compliment someone I meet before midday every day and record this in my journal over the next 12 months.

These goals have now been transformed into SMART Goals with clear action expectations. We know exactly what we are committing to and have a record of achievement to celebrate in 12 months. Now that is SMART!

For more tools to achieve your goals, go to philkinney.com