Are Your Goals S.M.A.R.T. ?

So you’ve got dreams, and you want to turn them into goals and see them come to life.

But goals can be intimidating. If they’re big goals they may seem unreachable or even impossible. You may want to quit before you even get started.

This is why your goals need to be S.M.A.R.T.

Now I’m not suggesting that your goals have an IQ or that they are good or bad. S.M.A.R.T. is a formula of sorts that not only helps you reach your goals, but also determine if your goals are realistic — reachable!

Here’s the formula:

Really, this formula isn’t any different from making a “To-Do” list.

For example, when you list things you want to accomplish in a weekend most likely they meet each of these criteria.

Let’s look at them in a little more detail:

SPECIFIC – Answer the six “W” Questions
*Who:      Who is involved? 
*What:     What do I want to accomplish? 
*Where:    Identify a location. 
*When:     Establish a time frame. 
*Which:    Identify requirements and constraints. 
*Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of   accomplishing the goal.

MEASURABLE – Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
Ask Yourself:
How will I know when it is accomplished?

ATTAINABLE
When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true.

You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.

You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

REALISTIC – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work.

A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. 

TIME-BOUND – A goal should be grounded within a time frame.

With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency.

A “To-Do” List consists of specific tasks that can realistically be accomplished in a day, weekend, etc.

Grander goals usually require a longer time-period and may need a few smaller goals to reach them.

Let me share with you one of my grand goals for this year – to lose 54 pounds by the end of the year. Now we’ll break it down:

Specific – 54 pounds, or approx 1 pound/week
Measurable – Measure by weighing-in every week
Attainable – By changing eating habits and increasing exercise.
Realistic – The number fits within a healthy weight for my body-type so it is realistic.
Time-Bound – The ultimate time-frame is 12 months and the smaller time-frame is 1 pound/week or 5 pounds/month

This is not an easy goal and the big number looks very difficult to attain. Breaking it down to weekly/monthly goals makes it less intimidating and by keeping my eyes on the smaller ‘prize’ will make me more likely to stick with it.

To help me reach this huge goal I am also setting goals related to exercise, spiritual ‘fitness’ and encouragement to compliment it.

I actually believe there is a piece missing in the S.M.A.R.T. formula and think we need to make our goals S.M.A.R.T.eR

The R is for Reward

Sometimes reaching the ultimate goal is not reward enough and we need some encouragement along the way. Rewarding ourselves for sticking to the new disciplines required to reach our goals and encourage us along the way.

I have developed a goal worksheet that I use when setting goals. If you’d like a copy, comment here, or e-mail me at pauladavispeace.com. I’ll be glad to share them.

Goals can be fun to make and when they are attainable (even with some hard work sometimes) we are more likely to find success.

What are your goals for the year? Share them here, or at my author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pauladavispeace

There I will provide tips for sticking with our goals and encouragement that I find along the way.  Together we can accomplish our goals and bring more peace to our puzzle called life.

blessings & peace to you!
Paula