You’ve probably set goals at some time in your life and perhaps even had some success at getting what you want.
But the truth is most people usually don’t get the results they want from goal setting and this leads first to disappointment and then to them giving up on actually setting goals.
Yet there is ample evidence to suggest that people who set effective goals end up more successful than those who do not.
The biggest problem is that most people don’t actually set their goals correctly so it’s not surprising they don’t get the results they want.
The starting point for setting a goal is defining it in a way that is motivating and which will help you deliver it.
Setting good goals is easy when you follow a proven process and one of the best is known as the “SMART” goal formula.
You use this to determine a clear goal using each letter of the word SMART as a guide. Here’s what each letter means.
S is for specific, simple and stretching
Some people set goals to be rich, or to have money, or to have a new car or new house. If you want to get your goal, then you have to be very specific about what you mean. If you’re looking for money, be specific about the exact amount of money.
Keep it simple. Don’t make it complicated. The unconscious mind like simplicity and will support you in getting simple goals. The more complicated it gets, the more difficult that process will be. It’s better to have a few simple goals rather than one really complicated goal.
A goal doesn’t always have to be stretching, but to be motivating perhaps it needs to be just a little bit challenging for you. You’ve got to decide what’s right for you.
M is measurable and meaningful to you
In order to be able to say that you’ve reached your goal, you need to have a way of measuring progress and determining that you have reached it.
And the goal has to be meaningful to you. Many people try to achieve things in their life because they think it’s good for their family, or they think it’s what their partner or parents want. For you to get a goal, it has to be meaningful to you. It can’t be somebody else’s goal. It has to be something that motivates you all the time.
A is for ‘as if now’, achievable and all areas of your life
It’s really important that your goal is worded ‘as if now’ – in the present tense. That means that you write it as if you’ve already achieved it.
So if you want to achieve something by the end of the year, you will write your goal: “It is the 31st of December, and I have achieved …“
If you set a goal which is, “I want to have a million dollars,” for example, then ‘want’ is always in the future. You will never achieve ‘want’ because it is always happening at some stage further down the line.
The goal also has to be achievable but this doesn’t have to mean easy. If the goal, for example, is to win an under 30s tennis championship, you must be under 30. It must be physically possible for you or somebody in your situation to do it. But make sure it is your definition of achievable and not what other people think.
It’s good to have goals in all areas of your life. Your life goes out of balance very easily if you don’t have goals and challenges in different areas. There’s no point in having really successful career goals if your relationships or your health and fitness have to suffer for them.
Areas you can set goals in include:
- Business and career
- Family
- Relationships
- Personal growth and development
- Health and fitness
- Spirituality
For fastest results, focus on the area which is going to have the biggest impact on the others. For example, if by working on a health and fitness goal, you think you’re going to get better results in your business, then work on health and fitness.
R is for realistic, responsible and ecological
Realistic is the balance to achievable. Being an under 30s tennis champion might be achievable if you’re under 30, but if you’ve never played tennis in your life and don’t have any interest in tennis, then it’s probably not realistic.
However, don’t allow people around you to deflect you with comments like: “Oh, you’ll never do that. Nobody’s done it before.” It has to be within the realm of possibility for someone in your situation to do it, but choose your own definition of ‘realistic’.
A goal also has to be responsible and ecological. It’s important that the goal is right for you. However, a goal that could be threatening to people around you, or detrimental to the planet, will be more difficult to achieve.
T is for timed and towards what you want
Timed means you have to put a specific date on it. You can have a goal that meets all the other criteria – but unless you’ve pinned it down to a very specific date and time, then it’s not likely to happen. If you want that goal to be achieved this year, you need to specify an exact date.
Finally, it’s about being toward what you want – not away from what you don’t want.
That means a goal about being your ideal weight should be focused on the weight you want to be – not what you need to lose to get there. And a financial goal should be focused on what you want to have – not based on where you are now.
It’s all about being positive and focusing on what you want.
The reason many people fail in setting goals is that they scribble something down on a scrap of paper, or quite often don’t even bother writing it down. Then they don’t get what they want and they’re put off the whole concept of goal setting.
An typical badly-defined goal might be:
“I want to earn a lot of money this year”
A SMART goal would be:
“It is the 31st of December 2010 and I am holding in my hand a statement showing that I have an additional $130,000 in my bank account that I have earned from my business between June and December.”
By following these principles, you will get results.
Here’s a summary of your SMART Goals Checklist
S
- The more specific your goal is, the more chance of it happening
- To help you stay focused, it needs to be simple
M
- It must be measurable so that you’ll know you’ve achieved it
- It should be meaningful to you – not to impress others
A
- It should be ‘as if now’ – in the present tense
- It must be achievable – i.e. physically possible
R
- It must be realistic so that you believe it will happen
- Your goal must be responsible – having no negative impacts on you, others or the planet as a whole
T
- It must be timed with a specific date when it will be achieved
- Your goal should be moving towards what you want instead of away from what you don’t want.
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