You are fed up.
Because you have been trying to set and reach your goals a gazillion times…
but no matter how HARD you try, you can`t seem to reach them.
Somehow the goal always seems to elude you…
like a red handkerchief in the hands of a master matador.
When the angry bull is only a few inches away from impaling the handkerchief, the matador makes a quick movement in a split-second…
and suddenly the bull is throwing itself again thin air.
Failing to reach your goal, makes you a bit annoyed.
Nah, who are we kidding?
Let`s be honest…
It pisses you off!
Can you relate?
No worries, I`ve been there too.
When I started to use a proven system for setting and reaching my goals, EVERYTHING CHANGED.
And it can for you too!
Let me reveal the SMART goal definition and how it can boost your success.
The SMART goal definition
It is a method based on the following acronyms:
- S – specific
- M – measurable
- A – attainable
- R – relevant
- T – time-based
Note: I`ve created a SMART goals template that has helped me reach my goals several times.
Click the button below to get it for free (normally I just give them to my coaching clients).
Click Here to Get Your FREE Template
You might be thinking, “yeah, I get the acronyms, Tor. But how does it apply to the real world?”
Excellent question.
Let`s say that you are on a top secret mission (yeah, I`m a sucker for James Bond movies), and your mission is to transport a package from point A to point B.
You start in a country, let`s say USA (point A) and you are going to travel to another country (point B).
Specific – where are you going?
If you don`t know exactly WHERE you are going, you will probably not reach our destination.
- Country – if you know that your final destination is Canada, it won`t help you much at all (it is too generic, and Canada is a very LARGE country
- State – if you got the additional information that your destination is Quebec (it still wouldn`t do you much good)
- City – if you were told that the City was named Montreal (it`s still not specific enough for you to find the exact destination)
- Post Address – If you knew the exact post address, you would be able to arrive at the correct destination, right?
You get the point.
The more SPECIFIC the goal is, the better it is.
Measurable – how far from the destination?
If a goal is not measurable, you will not know how you are doing compared to your goal…
but worst of all, you will NOT know when you have reached it.
Delivering a package of goods to a specific address in Montreal is measurable.
Thanks to the inventions of GPS, you can measure our remaining distance to the final destination.
And when you reach the address, you will know that you have accomplished your goal.
Attainable – is it realistic?
If you think the goal is attainable, you will be motivated to start on the journey…
and more importantly, you will most likely complete your mission (goal).
On the other hand, if you think that the goal is unrealistic, you will never truly be committed to complete the mission.
Why?
Because you know deep inside that it`s not a realistic goal.
So why should you even try?
It`s like if you were able to do 10 push ups on a VERY good day, and then you set the goal that you should be able to do 100 push ups in two weeks time.
That`s crazy!
It`s like reaching for the stars, right?
Relevant – will this action bring you closer to the destination?
If the actions you are going to do, don`t bring you any closer to your the goal, it`s counter-productive…
but even worse, it`s a total WASTE of TIME and effort.
Let`s say that you want to lose weight.
If your key activities are to sit in front of the TV watching reruns of bad reality series while eating potato chips and drinking soda, it`s not only waste of time and effort…
it`s DIRECTLY counter-productive…
and will take you FURTHER from your goal, even BEFORE you have started out.
That`s what you can call a bad start.
Time-based – when will you arrive at your destination?
Setting a deadline is important.
The experts say that a goal without a deadline is just a dream.
When are you going to arrive at your destination?
The more specific, the better.
If you are going to arrive on a specific address in Montreal on a certain date to deliver a package to someone, you still have a 24 hours window.
The EXACT time would be of great importance.
How the SMART Goal definition can boost your success
If you DON`T have proven system that you use when you set your goals, you are depending on guesswork and gut feeling.
You might just as well sit in the middle of a green meadow under a rainbow in a meditating position, trying to mentally attract flying unicorns…
it`s just going to happen. But HOW can you boost your chance of success?
By following a PROVEN system.
Have you ever heard about someone building a house without using any type of blueprint?
Most likely not. (If you have, for the sake of your own life, you shouldn`t enter their home.)
Why do people use blueprints to build their house?
Because they want to MAKE SURE that the house is going to look exactly like they have PLANNED.
They DON`T want looking at their new house feel like opening a package on Christmas…
NOT knowing what they are going to get, right?
And neither should you, regarding YOUR GOALS. If you are willing to PLAN building your new house so thoroughly…
WHY shouldn`t you do the same with YOUR LIFE?
Here`s what to do next…
Since I really want you to succeed, I want to do something COOL for you.
I`m giving you my SMART Goal template that I normally only give to my coaching clients.
The template has helped me to reach my goals, over and over again.
Download your FREE SMART goal template below and start crushing YOUR GOALS!
Click Here to Get Your FREE Template
What`s your experience with setting and reaching your goals?
Do you have any kind of system or template when it comes to setting your goals?
I help online entrepreneurs NETWORK with influencers and position their BRAND so they can attract the right CLIENTS fast. Award-winning blogger.
Great article, Tor. Just what I need to see today.
Thanks,
Sue
Thanks for your kind words, Sue.
I am glad to see that you found this article useful 🙂
Tor
Thank you Tor,
Thank you for this nice article. This method is definitely smart. It counteracts the limiting beliefs which otherwise would sabotage reaching the goal.
S – I do not know exactly what I should do.
M – Does that bring me anything at all?
A – I will never achieve it anyway.
R – I do not see the point in committing myself doing this.
T – It will take me forever, anyway.
Do you think I identified correctly those limiting beliefs?
Thank you,
Esther
Hi Esther,
I like your twist with the limiting beliefs.
Yeah, the limiting beliefs you are mentioning sounds logical.
The most important factor here is S (specific):
– Which EXACT result does it bring me?
When you know the answer to that question, you can then ask the question:
Okay, so it brings me X, is it really worth it.
Example:
If you wanted to get in good shape running a marathon and your goal was to run the marathon in X amount of time.
You talked to a marathon coach and found out that you needed to put in Y amount of training sessions.
If Y (the price you need to pay) is bigger than the X (the reward) you will most likely NOT do it.
And it`s totally understandable.
Who would want to put in a lot of work, sweat and time only to get rewarded with a few pennies?
Have a great day.
Best,
Tor
Hi Tor,
I like the spin you put on the concept of SMART goals. Great job.
For me, visualization helps a lot.
When I set a goal, it is always something I can easily quantify. And I will generally post a cartoon thermometer or arrow to my office cork board… then as I move closer to my goal, I color in my progress.
It serves as a reminder each day to keep moving things forward… because I want to see that thermometer totally colored in. 🙂
Thanks a lot for your comment, Brent.
Visualization is always a good thing, the more often you can remind yourself of your goal AND to do the necessary activities, the higher is the chance that you will actually perform them.
You need to find out what works best for you.
There are normally 4 factors when it comes to reaching a goal:
1. What do you want to achieve
2. Why do you want to achieve it (find your strong WHY – your passion)
3. What do you have to sacrifice? (What`s the price?)
4. Decide if the award is worth the cost
The big factor is your big passion regarding WHY you want to achieve your goal. The stronger your why is, the higher is the chance that you will be able to endure all the challenges and struggle along the way.
Have a great day.
Tor
Hey Tor, nice article and great take on SMART goals! Following SMART goals really does give results. It forces you to really define your goal instead of throwing out some vague fluff without any plan for achieving that goal.
Hi Camilla,
thanks a lot for stopping by to comment. I really appreciate it.
Reaching your goals is like cooking food, it`s very helpful to have a recipe that you can follow.
Imagine yourself standing on the kitchen and you were going to cook a dish you had NEVER cooked before.
In addition, you had NO recipe.
You are probably thinking that it`s CRAZY, right?
It`s because it IS.
How the heck can you cook a dish you have never cooked before without a recipe?
You probably don`t have ALL the right ingredients…
and even if you did…
you wouldn`t KNOW.
In other words, it`s all just guesswork and creative spontaneous actions you execute as you go along.
The same goes for GOAL SETTING.
Without following a RECIPE, it`s just guesswork and messing around.
A well written post Tor,
Goal setting is very essential in any endeavor, both in business and in personal life.
Almost all the successful businesses out there today are very good in goal setting. Not having goals is like when you’re running round a circular object, you’ll never know where you’re heading to and when you’ve gotten there.
Any person that truly want to achieve great things in life must first start by setting great goals and with all the points you made here, the process will really be very easy.
I’m going to download your checklist now, looking forward to working with it :).
Thanks or sharing such an actionable post Tor.
Thanks a lot for your great comment, Theodore.
Yes, it`s not possible to be highly successful in your career, unless you are really good at setting at hitting your goals.
It`s like sailing a boat, if you don`t know WHERE you are going, how can you get there?
And even, if you are doing fairly well without focusing on goal setting…
imagine WHERE you could have been if you had put some effort into it 😉
If you want to take control over your life and start designing life on your terms, goal setting is essential.
Have a great day, Theodore.
Best,
Tor
Hey Tor, nice article and great take on SMART goals! Following SMART goals really does give results. It forces you to really define your goal instead of throwing out some vague fluff without any plan for achieving that goal.
Thanks for stopping by, Sneha.
As Peter Drucker said: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Best,
Tor
Sometimes I found it really interesting to read out the success stories and all those stories inspire me to develop something new.
Thanks
Well said, Ravinder. Thanks for commenting.
Tor
I liked “Time-based – when will you arrive at your destination?” this point the most
thanks for sharing
Thanks for commenting, Ravinder. I really appreciate it.
Merry Christmas!
I really appreciate the effort you have made Tor. Thanks for Sharing
Really Helpful Brother. Will visit again to read more
Thanks man 🙂
High five to you! *SLAP*
Tor
Thanks a Lot For This Post
Thanks, Nikhil 🙂
Heyhey Tor
Thanks for sharing your outline of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting!
I thinks it’s really the heart of becoming effective in what one does.
Would love to read some impressions from you on how to tackle the different “letters” of S.M.A.R.T.
Often I only realized after a while that the goals I set weren’t really smart, although I was convinced they were. For instance “attainable” – it seems to be really difficult to not over- or underestimate one’s capabilities and time resources to achieve a certain goal …
Many thanks!
cheers
Mind Ape
Thanks for commenting Mind Ape.
Yeah, S.M.A.R.T. goal setting can be a bit tricky in the start.
Once you get used to setting smart goals, you will also get to know your own capabilities more.
This will again lead to you finding it easier to set attainable goals in the future 🙂
Keep up the good work!
Tor