'A goal without a plan is just a wish' -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
This may sound like a cliché, but like any good cliché, there is more than an element of truth to it.
SMART Goal Setting
The Power of Goal setting can be boiled down into the acronym SMART. There are many words related to each letter of SMART, including:
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For the purposes of this article I have chosen the words Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound to highlght the benefits on SMART goal setting.
By using these principles to set goals, you will begin to understand what your goal is and how best to attain it.
Below, each element of SMART goal setting is discussed.
Specific
This is the What?, Why? and How? part of goal setting. What is it you ACTUALLY want to achieve? Why is this important to you? How to you plan on achieving your goal?
A good example of this can be seen in sportsmen like David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson. Their aim was to kick the perfect dead ball or drop goal, respectively. The reason was that in the pressure of a game they needed to perform in order to help their team win. The How they did this started on the training ground. Both players practiced hour after hour, kick after kick, day in day out, so when the opportunity arose in a game, they knew what to do.
Consequently, David Beckham took the two corner kicks that led to the two goals that helped Manchester United lift the UEFA Champions League Trophy in 1999, and Jonny Wilkinson kick the winning drop goal to win England the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
Measurable
Having a measurable means you have tangible evidence to observe that you are reaching your goal. Again, with the example of sportsmen, reaching your goal means more points for your team and a higher level of performance. But measurable evidence are evident in all jobs. A teacher facilitating a good lesson will see children progress. A sales executive will see their bonuses increase if they perform. A song writer will witness people enjoying their music. The list goes on.
So, pick a tangible goal that you can actually touch, feel or see. Without this, many become disillusioned and unsure of whether their hard work is paying off/
Achievable
Or in another words, be realistic. If you want to be a writer but you never write, there is no chance of you achieving your goal. Likewise, if you wish to set up your own business, but you lack the funds to do this at the present time, you goal might actually be saving money so you can do so in the near future.
Needless to say, someone with two-left feet who wants to perform ballet at the London School of Ballet will need to practice for thousands of hours in order to do this. And even then, for most, this will not happen. But if this same person also wants to complete a Maths degree, and they have a grade A in their Maths A-Level, they will find that this goal IS achievable with a little hard work along the way.
Relevant
Exactly how relevant is your goal? Take this example. A student has an essay to be handed in by 2 pm. But, rather than start the assignment they tidy their room, surf the web, check Facebook on their mobile, go out and buy coffee and meet up with friends. Whilst all these actions are specific, measurable and attainable, exactly how relevant are these actions to actually completing their essay. They're not.
So, make sure your goals are relevant and meaningful. Each planned action you take should move you a little closer to your end goal. If they don't, then perhaps you need to change the focus of your goal or think hard about whether the goal you picked is the right one for you.
Time-Bound
Time-bound is the When? of goal setting. A bride looking to lose weight for their wedding day are bound to a target date. Likewise, someone training for the London Marathon has a set date in which to train towards.
These are in some ways large-scale goals which require to be broken up into smaller steps in order to a. seem more realistic and b. more achievable.
Th Power of Goal Setting Conclusion
Many of us set and achieve hundreds of goals a day without really thinking about them; brushing our teeth, riding a bike to work, buying and reading a newspaper, choosing and eating lunch, meeting up with friends, adding credit to a mobile phone, shopping ... the list goes on. So why bother with goal setting?
As you can see, using SMART to set your goals shouldn't be used for every task in life, just the big ones. Because, as Benjamin Franklin said, 'If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail'.
