Setting smart goals is crucial for self-motivation, self-drivenness, and personal success. It gives us a map of where we are going and the path that will lead us there.
“Setting goals is the first step from turning the invisible to visible.”
Tony Robbins
A few years ago, I realized that if I kept doing what I was doing, I would keep getting what I was getting, which wasn’t good. I was doing things aimlessly, working for no reason other than to pay bills, and did not have any aspirations for myself or those around me. Let me tell you, this is no way of doing things!
After accepting full responsibility for my lack of progress and motivation, my life changed. I learned the benefits of goal setting and started implementing it daily. This improved my life and led me to make smarter decisions for myself and my family.
Two of my goal for 2020 were to get out of debt and start investing. I wrote down these goals in January of this year, and by June, I was debt free and investing in my 401k. The challenges of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic didn’t stop me. In fact, I took advantage of the opportunities presented to me because I was determined to get what I wanted. As many of my co-workers were not coming to work, I took over more responsibility so that I could do overtime, which helped me a lot. I felt so happy and excited when I checked those two boxes. Writing these two goals guided me to choose the right moves at the right time and in the right way.
Write your goals down.
You must write down your goals. These must be clear, specific, detailed, and measurable. You can use George Doran’s rule, known as the S-M-A-R-T rule. This is one of the most popular ways of organizing goals.
“Only 3% of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them.”
Brian Tracy
S-M-A-R-T goals stand for:
S (Specific) – Your goal should be clear and detailed. Describe every action needed, specific dates, expected results, and who needs to be involved.
M (Measurable) -This helps monitor progress after implemented plans. Tracking your progress helps you stay motivated. Also, it enables you to stay focused, meet your deadlines, and enjoy your accomplishments.
A (Achievable) – Your goal must be realistic and attainable to be successful. That is, it should challenge your abilities but remain possible.
R (Realistic) – Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and choose actions that align with your potential. Identify the knowledge and skills you need to achieve your goals. Then, write down the one skill, if learned, will have the more significant impact on your success and work toward developing it every single day.
T (Time-bound) – Every goal needs a deadline to make the goal more focused and drive your subconscious mind toward achieving it as scheduled. You can also use it to prioritize your daily tasks and set a time frame for completion. If a goal is not completed by the deadline, set a new deadline.
Determine with clarity exactly what you want.
Create a picture of your perfect life. See yourself in possession of everything you want – you must know what you want to go after it.
Studies have shown that when we think about what we want in life and work towards achieving it, our brain automatically rewires itself to acquire the ideal self-image, which becomes an integral part of our identity. If we achieve the goal, we achieve fulfillment; if we don’t, our brain keeps nudging us until we achieve it.
Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury
Get creative with your goal setting by using art to visualize your dreams. The idea is that you create a clear, vivid picture of your dream life. Vision boards are very powerful – consider making one. Remember to celebrate small wins along the way, as they are essential milestones for achieving your goals. Prioritizing self-care in your plans is also essential for mental health.
Create a brilliant plan.
Create a list of every action you must take to reach your goal. Do you have to learn new skills? Whose support will you need? Put together the challenges you must overcome, the knowledge you must acquire, the new skills you must learn, and the people whose cooperation you will need.
The simple act of writing our goals, seeing our aims written in clear words right in front of us, and engaging in the thinking process of writing the targets trigger a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in regulating our goal-setting actions — The Reticular Activating System (RAS)
Determine what steps you’ll need to take.
Detail all the steps you need to take on your list and keep going until your list is complete. Don’t leave anything out, including possible challenges, knowledge, skills, people, and dates. Consider organizing your list in a sequence where one step follows the other.
“When you have a goal and a plan, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals by 10 times, by 1000%”
Brian Tracy
Figure out whose support you will need.
To achieve big goals, you will need the support of many people. Identify whose help you will need and make a list. Start with the people closest to you, like family members and co-workers. You must identify what is in it for them and create a win-win situation for you and them.
When I set my goal to graduate from college, I knew I would need my mom’s and my husband’s support to babysit my daughter, so they were on top of my list. I knew they were key people at that time and place in my life.
Set deadlines.
Deadlines force your subconscious mind to move you toward achieving your goals. If you have long-term goals, break them down by years, quarters, or months. For instance, my financial freedom goal will take 12 more years, so I broke it down by year and created a sub-deadline for each year. Lastly, if you don’t archive your goal by the deadline, just set a new deadline.
Write down the skills and knowledge needed.
We must learn one thing or two when embarking on a new journey. What are the skills that, if learned, will drive you toward your goal faster? Mastering a critical skill will set you up for success. Therefore, identify these skills and knowledge and work consistently on mastering them.
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
– Benjamin Franklin
Prioritize your task.
Every day, select the most crucial task that will bring you closest to your goal and do it. Be laser-focused on that task until it is 100% completed. From there, move to the next most important task and so on. The idea is to spend time doing the task that will most impact your success. Remember, time management is crucial for long-term success.
Your ability to select your most important task and then to work on it single-mindedly, without diversion or distraction, will double and triple the quality and quantity of your output and your productivity.
Brian Tracy
Practice self-discipline
Discipline is doing what you suppose to do even when you don’t feel like doing it. Whatever action you wrote in your action plan must be executed when required, not when you feel like it. This is the only way you will achieve your goals.
