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So, your wondering how to set a goal so you can actually achieve it. What you’ve done so far hasn’t worked that well and you are looking for some kind of instruction to show you how to do it.

The answer ist to be S. M. A. R. T. about it.

If you want to be sure you can achieve your goal make sure you set a S. M. A. R. T. one.

What’s with the acronym? Bear with me pleas, I’ll get to that shortly.

I would bet that a lot of you have been there. You said you’d do/get/become X, Y, Z, just to find yourselves having lost track only a few weeks down the road. Well, I sure have, more times than I care to admit.

There are many different reasons this happens.

• Maybe after a little while, you find out that your heart’s not really in it and you don’t want it bad enough to make the effort worth your while.
• Or you never thought it would be that hard, so you give up because it clearly can’t be done.
• And of course, sometimes life happens and things get in your way.

One pitfall is:

The goals are not set in a   S. M. A. R. T. way.

This makes it sooo much harder to achieve them if not impossible.

Some folks make it seem so easy. Be it on social media, in the magazines you read or on TV. But for some reason, you just have no clue how to get there. The whole thing just seems to be so overwhelming.

The things you want in life vary from time to time. Some are bigger than others. Some might seem mundane and others crazy big.

No matter whether your goal belongs with the crazy big or tiny category – what makes the difference is how you set it and that you are realistic about it.

Just because a goal is a big-ass one doesn’t automatically mean it’s not realistic as long as you take everything into consideration. In case you haven’t seen it yet, my post about how to G. R. O. W. towards the life you want can help you get clarity with this. It would be good to have a look at it before you start setting your goal(s). Just follow this link.

Make it  S. M. A. R. T.

Some of you may have heard about   S. M. A. R. T.   goals before. For those who haven’t and for those who wouldn’t mind a refresher, this is what the acronym stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant/Realistic
• Time-bound

This means:

You want to make sure that your goal is SPECIFIC and not wishy-washy like a thousand goals you set before. You need to know exactly what you’re aiming for. How else will you know you hit the target? It’s about the what, when, where, why, why not (if you will), how, who…

Then see to it that the goal is MEASURABLE. Again, how else will you know if you have reached it or how far you still have to go?

And of course, you want the goal to be ACHIEVABLE. Sure you want to set goals that make you stretch yourself some or even some more. However, you want to avoid setting goals which would be impossible to achieve. Otherwise, you will only end up giving up out of frustration.

The R attributes of the goal are that it’s REALISTIC and RELEVANT. 

Realistic:

By all means think big. Having said that, you still want to be realistic in order not to sabotage yourself.

If you’re 85 you might want to set a realistic goal of turning your life long hobby into a successful scaleable business. However, making your goal being the first person on Mars is not very likely for various reasons unless money is not an issue for you and they offer spots for sale within the next 10 – 15 years.

Relevant:

The “Why” you aim to reach a goal is crucial to your success in reaching it. It is your main motivator.

Let’s say Frida’s passion is designing her own jewelry and to clad herself in pieces coming straight from the catwalk after the NYFW. Kids are a nuisance to her and she doesn’t understand why people bother with them.

Then a friend tells her that there are great opportunities for Montessori teachers these days and it pays really well (don’t know if it does, it’s just an example).

Since Frida urgently needs a job to support her passion she is thinking about getting her qualification as a Montessori teacher.

How motivated and driven to reach her goal do you think she will be, knowing that she will spend 5 days a week with children? Sure there is the paycheck. But is that enough to make up for the daily ordeal? Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.

But, would she take a job at a top-notch boutique in town, and take classes to become a gold or silversmith, she would do something she loves and can turn her passion into a business once she has enough practice.

And last but by no means least, make sure the goal is TIME-BOUND.

Your goal needs a deadline, and that’s that.

Otherwise, you might tend to take your sweet time dilly-dallying around as you have no pressure at all to reach your goal.

This is where Parkinson’s law comes in the picture. The more time you give yourself to do something, the longer it will take. So what do you think would happen, if you don’t give your self a time frame/deadline by when you want to reach your goal.?

Exactly, you allow yourself to procrastinate and therefore are very likely not to reach the goal in question anytime soon. And believe me, I know what I am talking about. I am a master procrastinator. Fighting procrastination is a work in progress for me. I have gotten A LOT better, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

I’m sure you got the picture by now.

You want examples for S.M.A.R.T. goals?

Sure, no problem at all. I love examples.

Here you go:

Have a look at the following goals.

• Lose weight.
• Learn to speak Spanish.
• Become successful by the end of next year.

What do you think?

• How specific are they?
• Are they measurable?
• How achievable are they?
• Are they realistic? Whether they are relevant can only be determined by whoever sets the goal.
• Would you say they are time-bound/timely?

Exactly. They are merely one notch better than to say “I have a goal.”

Simply to say you want to lose weight is not specific. And it is either very easily achievable or not at all.

If you weigh yourself today and get on the scale again tomorrow weighing in one gram/ounce less, job done. You have achieved your goal because you lost weight. But is that really what you had in mind when you set it? I think not.

The same goes for the learning Spanish example.

What does that even mean? I bet you that each one of you has a different definition of what speaking Spanish means. Where one is not happy to say “I speak Spanish.” until they have mastered C2 level and are able to discuss Spanish literature the next one very confidently states “I speak Spanish.” when she’s able to say Hello and goodbye and ask for a beer.

And, you probably already figured it out, it is no different with the wanting to be a success by the end of next year.

At least this one has a deadline. So whoever would set that goal, would know by when she/he aimed to reach it.

The tricky part is though, that it is not specific enough. The way you define success can change within the course of a year and a half.  Meaning, what you had in mind today when you set the goal might not feel like a success for you by the end of next year.

How about a little exercise before you read on?

Go ahead, grab a piece of paper and a pen and write down what you think the goals above should read like. Make sure to tick all the S. M. A. R. T. boxes…

I’ll wait for you.

Done? Let’s see.

Do they look something like

• Loose 15 kg / 30 lbs within six months.
• Have conversational Spanish (B2 Level by European standards) by the time I will go on my next Spanish holiday in July of next year.
• Have gotten my promotion to X, Y, Z within 1.5 years.

Of course, you can includes specific dates. But they are clear because you just go from the date you set your goal.

Yes? Great!

OK, now you know what to look out for when setting goals.

NEVER set a goal FOR someone else!

Before you start a happy goal setting session for your husband and/or your kids, beware:

It doesn’t work in the same way (if at all) to set goals for others because chances are the other person won’t own the goal.

The reason it will not be as effective is that you don’t know how relevant the goal would be for someone else – from their point of view, not yours.

You may think it is a great goal to declutter the house by the end of next month and only have the things left that are really being used at least once every quarter. But what if your family doesn’t see anything wrong with the way it is?

How relevant do you think a goal you set for them on your own will be? How much will they own a goal you set without taking their opinion or feedback into account?

And what about their motivation to achieve it? There will probably be a huge lack of it if you just decide that they should do this or should do that because you simply know what’s best for the family.

Instead, talk to them.

Get them on board by making them see the benefits and then set a goal together that everyone involved owns.

This goes for all the goals you want to set for which someone else needs to take action.

Let’s recap:

To achieve your goals, make sure

• they are specific,
• you can measure them and/or the progress you make on them,
• you can achieve them (by all means, shoot for the stars but don’t do it with a spitball)
• they are relevant to you – remember, the WHY is crucial for how motivated you will be to stay on track.
  Always get everyone who needs to take action on board during the goal-setting process. It is important to own the goal in order to have the motivation it takes to achieve it.
• you decide on the time by when you want to have reached that goal. Again, make sure it is realistic.

This goes for any goal you set, no matter how big or small it may be.

Whether you

• want to become the CEO of your own company
• are responsible for organizing your mom’s 80th Birthday party or
• are having a long overdue night out with the girls.

The same rules apply.

You might give yourself two weeks to organize the girls night and three months for your mom’s B-Day.

However, that will most likely not be enough time to become the CEO of your own company if you are a homemaker without a college degree and/or the necessary knowledge and funds you need.

It is absolutely possible. It will only take longer than three months to get there. And of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Like winning the lottery and being able to hire those who know it all and do the work.

One more thing:

If you are midway and realize that something is not working out, adjust, adjust, adjust.

How about you?

What is your goal? I’d love to read about it.

Please let us know in the comments and maybe spread some inspiration.

Also, let me know if something is not clear by email or in the comments. If you use the comments others might benefit from you asking the question as well. But I understand if you don’t want to put yourself out there.

To avoid overwhelm, read my post on how to stay on track.

Happy goal setting!

See you around here soon.

Have a lovely day!

Renate xx