Monthly Archives: February 2010

So here we are…the end of the SMART goal setting with the step I think, in some ways, matters the most of all.

Time.

Time bound goals encompass all the other steps. Time is specific and measurable. A good time bound goal will be attainable in that time and it is realistic to do it with that time.

If you neglect Time in your goal setting process, it’s most likely the reason you don’t meet your goals. You never have a deadline as to when you reached them.  Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. If you don’t set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there’s no urgency to start taking action now.

Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal.

Bad example: “I am going to do my homework.”

Good example: “I will finish my homework by 8pm tonight, Feb 22, and I’ll achieve this deadline by spending one hour on each subject starting now.”

By investing time making sure that your goals fit the SMART criteria, you will dramatically improve your success rate. Try it out. Let me know how it goes.

Ahhh….Monday morning. How was your weekend? You probably noticed that the SMART goals sort of stopped. Well, let’s talk about “R”, shall we?

Realistic. What does this mean? To have a realistic goal, does this mean I can’t reach for the stars? Some people might suggest that you have to choose a goal that is within your grasp. But that’s not really what is intended in this step. Realistic is and has always been subjective. What’s a realistic goal for me may be ludicrous for you.

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. Be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labour of love.

Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Is it realistic to set a goal to make $250,000 in a year? Sure. People do that all the time, probably people you know. Is it realistic to think you could make $1,000,000 in a year? Of course. Only you know whether this is realistic for you and your desires. So the next time someone says, that’s not realistic, remember, what they are really saying is that it’s not realistic for them.

Was it realistic for me to think I could write a post about each of the steps for setting SMART goals? Of course. And yet, it didn’t get done and a few days slipped past. What happened? Ahhh, of course….I didn’t have a timeframe. And that would be “T”. Which also stands for tomorrow. TTFN.

A is for Attainable

 You now have a specific and measurable goal. Congrats! Your next step is to consider whether it is attainable. Please do not misinterpret this as being reasonable. Choosing an attainable goal does not preclude you from dreaming big. It’s simply a benchmark on getting to that dream.

 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.

You can attain any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

However, you do want to consider the attainability of this specific measurable goal, and whether you currently possess or will need to acquire the skills to make it come true.

For instance, you’d like to lose some weight. Losing 15 pounds in 15 days is unrealistic (unless you gave birth). Losing six to eight pounds in 30 days is reasonable.

You’d like to be a millionaire. Short of winning the lottery, this may take longer than a week.

Consider our Olympians. Did they become the top in their sport the day they decided to try it? Or course not. Was it a huge dream? You bet. Attainable? Absolutely. Over night? Not likely.

Do not think that choosing an attainable goal means you must alter your wild fantasies. It does require you to be realistic. Ooops, that’s for tomorrow… see you then!