Goals (and achieving them) are crucial to changing your life!
If a better life is what you crave, knowing your WHY serves as the compass to find it, but you need the proper tools to survive the trip–which are your goals. See this post to learn what your WHY is in the first place.
Don’t bail on me here! Goal-setting is something you can actually do in the real world and it won’t be some foo-foo-fest waste of time.
It’s often said that a goal not written down is only a wish. If life’s passing you by and you’re just whizzing around from task to task and activity to activity, with some general thoughts about wanting to live your life differently “someday,” but you lack concrete plans to get there, things will never change.
That’s why setting goals isn’t busywork. It’s worthwhile work. You don’t want to “wish” for things to happen in your life. You need to “make” them happen.
Whenever you set your goals you don’t just want to be smart about it—you want to be S-M-A-A-R-T.
Before the acronym is fleshed out, keep in mind that you have to write down goals to help make them real. (Write goals down or type them up, whatever works).
So how does that S-M-A-A-R-T acronym work?
S stands for Specific.
M stands for Measurable.
The first A stands for Achievable.
The second A stands for Aggressive.
R stands for Relevant.
Finally, T stands for Timely.
If you put your goals through the S-M-A-A-R-T goal filtering system you won’t have a life guided by wishes. You’ll have a specific roadmap through which you can travel through life to reach the destination that is your WHY.
A specific goal is optimized through the use of the “5W’s and 1H” method. Drill down into the specifics of WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW as it relates to each individual goal you set.
A measurable goal allows you to calculate your progress toward the attainment of it, keeping you on track.
An attainable goal will keep you fueled by the desire to reach your WHY. Goals best serve as the rungs you use to climb the ladder to the top, where your WHY awaits.
An aggressive goal turbocharges your efforts–go beyond basic achievability and place an accent mark on boldness and energy in terms of that goal’s achievement.
A realistic goal is one you’ll be more motivated to work towards it without losing steam. Sure, set high goals to stretch and grow. But set them too high and too fast and they won’t be believable enough for your subconscious mind to process, increasing urges toward self-sabotaging behavior.
A timely goal has deadlines set and/or timetables established to keep you persistently and consistently pursuing that goal. The concept of “someday” isn’t concrete enough for you to gain traction with.
Want to work on your goals even more? Try the book Goals! How to Get Everything You Want–Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy, available on Amazon.
