With the New Year just setting in, goals and resolutions are all the rage.
Whatever your goals may be, one thing you want is to keep them.
Here’s a handy acronym that’ll help you set goals the right way from the start so that you’ll stand a much better chance at keeping them. It’s called SMART goals, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based (there are also different, similar variations).
Specific
The first thing a smart goal needs to be is specific. If you’re vague about what you want to accomplish, chances are you won’t get what you’re looking for. So be specific. What exactly is it that you want to reach?
Measurable
By measuring your goal you’ll know where you stand. When you want to lose 10 pounds, there’s no ambiguity and you can clearly track your progress.
Achievable
So you have a specific goal and you know how to measure it, but is it achievable? In other words, are you capable of reaching this goal? For example, growing another foot taller is measurable and specific, but it may not be achievable.
Realistic
Realistic and achievable seem to be saying the same thing, but there’s a subtle difference, according to Greg Peters. Achievable, as mentioned, refers to your “ability or skill or talent or even the discipline to achieve that goal,” whereas “realistic … means whether the goal in question fits with all of the other higher priorities in my life.”
So you may be able to lose 10 pounds but based on your current situation, it may not be realistic to channel your energy in that direction.
Time-Based
All good goals have a timeline. Setting a goal to lower your blood pressure rate by X is great but only if you want that to happen by a specific time. So you need to give it a time frame that gives you enough space to reach your goal but also one that doesn’t cause you to waste your time when you could have reached it sooner.
Smart goal setting can help you avoid frustration when you plan your goals and milestones. Why not give it a try?
Do you use the SMART goal setting model?
Please share in the comments below.