Making SMART Goals

A goal is pretty easy to make. Lots of people will make some goals for the new year, but only 8% of those actually are accomplished. There are some simple things you can do while setting your goals that will drastically improve your chances of succeeding andgetting your life in order. There is an evolving method of goal setting called the SMART criteria. Smart is an acronym, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. People who make their goals SMART are usually the ones who actually see their goals through all they way.

SPECIFIC
The goal you are setting needs to be specific and not general. For example, “Workout twice a week at the gym with David” is much more specific than “Exercise more.” Specific goals will answer the five “W” questions of who, what, why, where, and which.

MEASURABLE
You need to be able to measure your progress. If you can’t measure anything, you won’t be able to see if you are making progress towards completing your goal. Many businesses and sports teams make measurable goals so they can track their progress. Measurable goals will be able to answer “how much?”, “how many?”, and “how will I know when it is completed?”.

ATTAINABLE
Your goals need to be easily reachable and not extreme. They can’t be easy enough to where you barely do anything, but they can’t be so hard as to make you spend all your time trying to complete it. Attainable goals will answer the question “how can the goal be accomplished?”.

RELEVANT
The goal has to be something you are willing to work for. Do you really want to work towards the goal, and do you believe you can do it? If so, then your goal is relevant. Goals that are relevant will be worthwhile to you.

TIMELY
Time is an important factor for goals. Sometimes we set goals for the week, other times for the whole year. Timeliness gives your goals a target date. When you are committed to a deadline you are much more likely to work towards the goal and stay on schedule.

When you make a SMART goal, you can expect the goal to be something much bigger than just a simple sentence scribbled on a piece of paper. SMART goals are complex because they tell you everything you need to know. They are much easier to complete because you have outlined everything and there is no room for excuses or interpretations.

What have been your successes and struggles with goals and goal setting? Try the SMART system and I guarantee you will see awesome results. Good luck!