Top tips on how to set feel good SMART Goals
Top tips on how to set feel good SMART goals
Setting meaningful and purposeful goals are crucial to your getting where you want to be. Life is a journey and goal setting works beautifully with this. It’s easy to set a goal but if you haven’t thought it through properly, there is a good chance you won’t meet the goal. SMART goals provide focus and are proven to be more effective.
SMART means:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-bound
Specific
To achieve your goal, you have to be clear and specific to direct your motivation and efforts towards it. During the drafting process, you should answer the 5 ‘W’s which are
- What do I have to do to achieve this goal?
- Why is it important to me?
- Who will assist you in achieving it?
- Where can I find it?
- Which sources will help me achieve it?
Answering these 5 questions, allow you to move to the next part and also gives you clarity as to what you are looking to achieve.
Measurable
It’s important to have your goal measurable so that you can stay motivated towards achieving and recording your progress. If there is no criteria, you will not be able to determine your progress and if you are on track to reach your goal.
To make a goal measurable, ask yourself:
- How many/much?
- How do I know if I have reached my goal?
- What is my indicator of progress?
Achievable
After measurable come achievable goals. A SMART goal should be achievable, attainable and realistic for it to be successful. This goal should make you work at your full potential yet should be achievable. This will help you figure out ways you can realise that goal and work towards it. The achievability of the goal should be stretched to make you feel challenged, but defined well enough that you can actually achieve it.
Ask yourself:
- Do I have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing? What learning /courses can I take to help me?
- Have others done it successfully before? Who can I ask?
The following questions should be answered:
- How do I get closer to achieving this objective?
- How applicable is this objective keeping in mind the externalities and finance?
Realistic
A SMART goal must be realistic in that the goal can be realistically achieved given the available resources and time. A SMART goal is likely to be realistic if you believe that it can be accomplished.
You should be able to answer the following questions:
- Is the goal realistic and within reach?
- Is the goal reachable, given the time and resources?
- Are you able to commit to achieving the goal?
- How close am I in achieving this goal?
Time-bound
Lastly, one of the essential parts of any SMART goal is the time-bound in that it has a start and finish date. This a hugely important part, if the goal is not time-constrained, there will be no sense of urgency and, therefore, less motivation to achieve the goal.
Ask yourself:
- What is the deadline to this goal?
- By what date do you want to achieve your goal?
Conclusion
Smart Goals do not need any special technique or prior knowledge to be used. It can be used to set all levels of goals in terms of difficulty.
Often, individuals or businesses will set themselves up for failure by setting general and unrealistic goals such as “I want to be the best at X.” This goal is vague, with no sense of direction.
SMART goals set you up for success by making goals specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. The SMART method helps push you further, gives you a sense of direction, and helps you organise and reach your goals.
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