Achieving The Impossible: SMART Goal Setting

The start of the new year is a time when many people focus on improving their lives by setting resolutions, or goals to achieve in the upcoming year. More times than not, most individuals abandon their resolutions by Valentine’s Day. Whether you are making resolutions or just want to change your life, setting achievable goals will help you achieve your goals.

If you’re ready to embrace a new way of setting goals, it’s important to take a look at what hasn’t worked in the past. With so many different methods of setting and achieving your goals, take the time to try something new. One of the best methods for setting achievable goals comes from best practices put into place by marketing professionals. By setting SMART goals for yourself, you will not only clearly define your goals, but you’ll also create a framework for setting achievable goals.

Specific

One mistake people often make when setting a goal is to keep it vague. They might say, “I want to lose weight” or “My goal is to be happier.” The problem with achieving these goals is that there is no way to determine if you are making progress on those goals because they aren’t specific. The tweak is simple, make your goal specific. Take time in examining your vague goal to get to the heart of what it means for you.

One word of caution, don’t set so many parameters that you set yourself up for failure. While you need to be specific about the outcome, give yourself some room to make adjustments while on the journey.

Measurable

One benefit of making your goal specific is that it allows you to break it down into smaller, measurable steps, allowing you to track your progress.

Attainable

This step in the goal-setting process requires some soul-searching. Once you’ve stated your specific goal, recognized measurable progress markers, you have to ask yourself if you are willing to truly put in the time and effort to achieve these goals. This step will help you identify and take action on areas that may cause you trouble in meeting your goals.

Please note, this step is NOT about setting easy goals for yourself. It’s more about being realistic about the challenges you face. If you recognize those challenges and plan for them ahead of time, you will be better prepared to overcome difficulty and less likely to give up on your dreams.

Relevant

Once you’ve broken down your goal and examined how attainable it is in your present life, you have to ask yourself if this is relevant to you. This highly personal step will help you discover if your goal is self-motivated or a result of expectations from other people that you have internalized. Achieving goals can be difficult enough, and it’s important to know that you are doing it to be your best self.

Timely

Give yourself a timeline. This step is crucial for keeping you accountable on your journey and will give your markers to measure your progress.

While it may seem counterintuitive to setting goals with such meticulous detail, these details give you the framework for success. Not only will you have a road map to follow, but you’ll also have ways to measure and recognize your progress along the way, giving you more opportunities to celebrate your growth along the way.