SMART Goals Maximize Goal Setting SuccessAchieve goal setting success with SMART goals. Every year, millions of people set goals as they make their New Years resolutions with the best of intentions...only to make the same resolutions the following year. SMART goals is a acronym for the essential components of goal setting success.
In my work with athletes, business professionals and students, there are two main reasons why people don't succeed goal setting success:
You won't make this same mistake if you follow the principles of SMART goal setting. Specific - You maximize your chances of goal setting success if you set specific goals that focus your attention and energy on what you need to do to achieve your goal. For example, a vague goal such as "I want to lose weight and become fitter" could be made to be more specific, such as "I will lose 6 pounds and run 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time." These personal goal setting activities can help you to brainstorm the different types of goals you want to achieve. Measurable - If you can't measure your goal how will you know that you have reached it? A goal that you can measure establishes concrete criteria that allows you to measure your progress. Having measurable goals is important as it gives you benchmarks or milestones, which when reach, give you the satisfaction of achievement. This can be a great boost to your confidence and spurs you onto greater effort. For example, rather than setting goals such as "I will exercise today" or "I will read my notes tomorrow", set more measurable goals such as "I will walk 5 miles today" or "I will read chapters 1 and 2 tomorrow." Action steps - Having clear action steps to achieve your goal is critical to goal setting success. You should be asking yourself the following questions: "How am I going to reach your goal?", "What steps do I need to take and what resources do I need to get, to achieve your goal?" For example, suppose you want to lose 5 pounds in six months. Well this is a good Specific and Measurable goal, but how are you going to achieve it. An action plan in which you take the steps of cutting your mid morning snack and walking 2 miles at lunch time is a good start. Download your free action plan template and develop your goal setting steps today. Realistic - Setting realistic goals does not mean the goals are easy, but you do need to stretch yourself so that you focus to achieve your goal. For example, I am a bit of a chocoholic, and I know that I can't do (will not do) without my chocolate, so setting a goal to not each chocolate for the rest of my life is clearly unrealistic. However, a more realistic goal is to reduce the amount of chocolate I eat to one bar a week. Time-based - When you set a deadline to achieve your goal you create a sense of urgency to take action today! Whether your time frame is today, tomorrow or in 5 years time, setting a time to achieve makes your smart goals a priority.
OK...you have set goals that maximize your chances of goal setting success, now you need to ask yourself two more questions: Energizing - Are your SMART goals energetic, exciting and ethical? Your goals need to reflect your values and be something that you are passionate about achieving. By having goals that are energizing and exciting, you will be motivated to keep going to achieve your goal. Reviewed and Resourced - With the best of intentions, millions of people set goals each new year, only to realize that they are setting the same goals next year. This is because many people set and forget goals, and as a result never achieve what they were aiming for. Setting goals is an active process - and reviewing progress and adjusting your goals is important for goal success. For example, I work sometimes work with injured athlete, and often we need to review their goals to take into account their injury. Similar things may also arise in your life - such that you need to review your goals. Having the resources to achieve your goal is important also. If you are not prepared to put in the time and effort to make a change then it is unlikely that you will make the sacrifices to achieve your goal. goal setting process or a goal setting plan you greatly increase your chances of goal setting success. Alternatively, try our goal setting course to set and achieve your goals. If you think that goal setting software may be beneficial to you, see what we thought of the leading goal setting software.
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