Rather than a wish list, make your goals concrete. Clear goals can be met and achieved. You can sense the thrill of reaching your objectives. Make your goals S.M.A.R.T. and write them down for confidence in your plan and in your ability to achieve them.
Would you travel from Seattle to L.A. without a map or any prior preparation? Would you hop in your car, turn the key, and expect to arrive at your destination without having done any research? Would you embark on a journey without making any preparations? Obviously not. If you want to achieve your goals, you’ll need a strategy. Make your goals more than a wish list to increase your chances of achieving them. Make a strategy for SMART goals. You must plan and prepare in order to have a successful trip and arrive at your destination. The same may be said for your goals.
Setting SMART goals is an effective method for achieving the success you desire. The process of goal-setting provides guidance and insight. Setting goals allows you to decide where you want to go life. Making a plan to reach your goals, whether they be weight reduction, personal, or professional, is critical. It’s not enough to just think about them and have them float around in your thoughts without any context. You must write them down and devise a plan that includes techniques for achieving your goals.
Create categories to help you arrange your goals. Personal, Career, Education, Family, Health/Fitness, Financial, and Self Improvement are examples of categories. After that, make a list of your objectives in each category! Make your goals S.M.A.R.T. while setting them!
S stands for Specific, M stands for Measurable, A for Attainable, R is for Relevant and T for Time Frame.
Specific
Rather than a generic or wide goal, be specific. “Exercise” would be a generic goal. “Join a gym and work out three times a week,” for example, would be a precise goal. “Drink more water” is another example of a broad goal. “Drink 64 ounces of water throughout the day,”, would be a precise goal. Make a detailed list of each step in the goal. List your goal in such a way that you can cross off the steps you’ve taken to get there.
Measureable
Instead of saying “I want to get a promotion” or “I want to lose weight”, being specific includes also being able to measure your goals. You need to be able to measure where you are now, to where you want to be. Instead try “I want to lose 1 pound a week over the next 12 weeks”, this is something that you can continually measure the progress of. Also like the water example above, when you plan to drink 64 oz a day, you can continually assess your progress throughout the day by seeing how much you have left.
Attainable
Make sure your goals are attainable so they are not overwhelming to figure out how to get there. When a goal is attainable, you can begin to develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and steps you’ll need to fulfill them. You won’t be excited or enthused to begin achieving your goals if they are unreasonable or overwhelming. Using the weight loss example, saying you want to lose 25lbs in 7 days is both unattainable and unhealthy. When your goals are attainable, you will get closer to achieving your intended result. This also initiates a cycle of momentum and success to carry you forward.
Relevant
Choose goals that fit with a greater purpose, if your goal is to become healthier, then losing weight may be a part of that but so would eating more vegetables. If you are working towards a promotion, then a relevant goal would be volunteering for extra projects. Volunteering at your kid’s school is a great thing, but it is not a relevant goal to getting a promotion at work. Everytime you set a goal, ask yourself “How does this effort relate to the outcome I want”, if you can’t answer that easily, then rethink the task.
Timeframe
A goal should be set within a specific time frame. There is no way of knowing when you will achieve your goal without a time period attached with it. Set a deadline for yourself and try your best to stick to the plan. When do you want to lose a certain quantity of weight? By when do you want to have a promotion at work? You have no idea when you will reach your goal if you leave your deadline open-ended, as in “someday.” If you set a deadline, such as “by March 31st,” you’ll have started working toward your goal. Open-ended goals are often not achieved. Giving yourself a deadline will help you stay committed and accountable to your goals.
Congratulate yourself when you achieve a goal!Take time to appreciate your accomplishment and the measures you took to get there! Feel completely satisfied with your accomplishment. Consider how far you’ve come toward your goal and how you may apply the same perseverance and drive to new objectives. Most importantly, embrace the sense of satisfaction
