SMART Goal Settings

Using SMART Goal Settings to Reach your Target and Achieve Success

Being able to reach a certain outcome doesn’t just rely on luck.  Instead, it involves SMART goal settings that will allow you to understand what you want and how you plan to get there.  There are certain very important characteristics involved in success, and goal setting ensure that you are not only taking the right steps, but you are after the right target.  How do you know if you have your eyes on the right prize?  By knowing that your goals have the following characteristics:               

• Specificity
• Measurability
• Attainability
• Realism
• Timeliness

Specificity

The first part of SMART goal settings is specificity.  Your desired outcome needs to be defined and straightforward so that you know precisely what it is that you’re after.  If your goal is too vague, then it will become too easy to deviate from the direct path to achieving it. 

To create specificity, ask yourself the following questions: 

• What is it that you want to achieve?
• Why is this achievement important?  What will you gain?
• How do you intend to reach this outcome?

By making your goals clear and direct, you will give yourself a set target for a workable achievement plan.  An example of the difference between goals with and without specificity are as follows: 

• Without: I will exercise more.
• With: I will stop using the elevator at work and walk for 30 minutes every evening after dinner.

Measurability 

This is a key area where many individuals struggle to properly employ goal setting.  It is vital to understand that if you cannot measure your progress, you have no way of knowing if you are moving toward your intended outcome.  Furthermore, you won’t be able to gauge how much you’ve achieved and how close you are to reaching your target. 

Make sure that you use the specificity of your goal in order to make it something that you can measure along the way.  For example, if you have decided that you need to lose 10 pounds, then the measurability will be scheduled weekly trips to the scale. 

An example of goal setting and those without measurability are as follows: 

• Without: I am going to read more books.
• With: I am going to read one book every month, and twelve books per year.

While you can’t measure the desire to read more, you can measure the number of pages or of books that you read within a certain time frame. 

Attainability 

Though it’s all well and good to have a certain dream in mind, SMART goal settings require you to know that you will actually be able to reach that target.  This means that at the same time that you decide on your goals, you also need to find out if you currently have (or can obtain) the required skills, abilities, attitudes, and money you need to get there. 

If what you want is too far beyond your capabilities, then the odds are that you won’t be able to bring your plan to completion.  You will likely start off with good intentions and high motivations, but knowing that you have taken on too much will begin weighing you down and will eventually stop you from progressing.

While there is nothing wrong with a challenging goal, goal setting lets you know that though you may be struggling, you can indeed get to where you want to be.  It is the difference between feeling that something is difficult or that something is simply impossible.

Realism 

In terms of SMART goal settings, realism refers to whether or not it can actually be achieved.  This is not the same as something that is simply easy to accomplish.  You need to ask yourself if it can be done.  Is it possible?  It is at this point that you must differentiate between the dream and the reality of the situation.

Have a look at the impact that the attempt to achieve the goal will have on your life.  You may need to truly push yourself, but goal setting never involves bringing yourself to the breaking point – nor should they require you to pass it.

The following are some examples of the difference between a goal without realism, and  SMART goal settings:

• Without:  I’m going to stop snacking no matter how hungry I feel
• With: I will eat one healthy snack per day and a sweet treat on the weekend

Timeliness 

For goal setting to work, you need to have a specific timeframe in mind for their achievement.  If you give yourself a set deadline, you’ll push yourself to reach it.  Without an end point, you won’t have a sense of urgency, and your motivation will begin to slip.  Though you can alter your timeframe along the way in order to suit the realism of your goal, it is important to have a specific achievement date for each step along the way. 

Goal settings give you a way to make sure that the outcomes you want are within your realm of achievability and that you will be able to motivate yourself to continue forward in order to reach those objectives.