How S.M.A.R.T. Are Your Goals?
October 27th, 2007 | by Jeniffer |We all have goals.
We want to lose weight.
Write books.
Fly planes.
Go on vacation.
Buy a house…the list goes on and on.
Many of us never achieve the goals we set for ourselves, because they are not s.m.a.r.t.–they are not Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. For us to complete our goals, they must be all of these.
Specific
A goal must be specific. Exactly what is your goal?
You want to write a book? Great! What kind of book? Fiction? Non fiction? How long? What about? Etc.
Want to lose weight? Superb! How much weight do you want to lose? One pound? Five? Ten? Twenty five?
Measurable
You must be able to somehow measure your goal. How will you know when you have achieved it?
Will it be when you have completed the first draft? The second? Not until you find an agent? A publisher?
Or when you finally put pen to paper or paper to printer, and begin to write.
How will you measure your goal?
It can help to take one larger goal, such as losing twenty pounds, or writing an entire manuscript, and break it down into smaller, measurable goals.
For the twenty pound weight loss, sticking to a diet and exercise plan to help you lose weight could be one goal. Losing the first pound, then the fifth, the tenth, etc. are further goals.
For the book, making an outline, writing the first page, first chapter, first draft, etc, right down to completing the manuscript, and finding an agent or a publisher can all be separate goals, which lead to the completion of the larger one.
Having smaller goals which lead to attaining the larger one can help keep you moving forward, building momentum to the completion of the final goal. Measuring your progress in this way provides constant positive feedback, reassuring you that you can, indeed, attain what you desire.
Achievable
The goal must be something you actually are able to do.
Don’t set a goal of running 10k by the end of the week if you have never ran before. Don’t set a goal of owning a new home outright by the end of this month if you have just come out of bankruptcy.
It has to be something you are able to do.
Want to run a 10k? Great. Get your doctor’s ok and a good running program, and start training.
Want to write a book? Wonderful. Don’t expect to finish it in one day.
One step at a time, one goal at a time.
Relevant
Your goal must mean something to you. Your husband may want you to lose five pounds, but unless it is something which is important to you, chances are you will not stick with it long enough to achieve the goal, even if you do give it a bit of a try. And it can build up resentment if you are doing something just because someone else wants you to do it.
It has to fit in with your values and beliefs, with your life, not somebody else’s grand design of it for you.
Timely, or Time-measured
When will you achieve your goal by?
When will each of the steps necessary to achieving it be completed?
A month?
A week?
One year, or ten?
Planning out each of your goals in this way, making certain each is s.m.a.r.t., helps you keep on track, moving forward in your life, moving forward toward your goals.
And that can only be described as being smart!
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