What are Smart Goals and Why They Are VERY NECESSARY To Making Your Dream A Reality! -

When it comes to setting goals, we all have one thing in common! That is to accomplish the goal so our life will be better!

No one sets a goal so their life gets worse, EVER!

So yes, mankind, that is something we can all agree on, you, I, and everyone in this world sets goals so that our lives will be better!

But the real question is if you are trying to make your life better, then how come you fail A WHOLE FREAKING LOT AT accomplishing your goals?

I can tell you why.

It’s because you aren’t making your goals SMART.

If you want your goal to be powerful then it needs to be SMART.

What Are Smart Goals Exactly?

Well, you are in luck because I’m going to tell you exactly what SMART goals are, why they are important, and 5 tips for setting SMART goals.

What are SMART Goals?

Okay, so what are SMART Goals. Smart goals are:

carefully planned clear and trackable objectives that allow you to clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively so that you achieve what you want in life.

Whereas SMART is an acronym that reminds you of how you should set your goal every time.

The SMART acronym stands for (Source):

S- Specific
M- Measurable
A- Attainable
R- Relevant
T- Time-Bound

Using this acronym helps you to make every single goal that you have, more defined and clear so that you can achieve them in a shorter amount of time!

Let me break this down further so you can understand what are smart goals.

S- Specific

So when setting a goal you first need your goal to be S, specific.

This means that your goal needs to be clear and very well defined.

It cannot be vague and disorganized at all because goals provide direction.

Your goal needs to show you the way.

You can’t do that if your goal is not precise.

Your goal needs to answer the questions who, what, when, where, how, and why so that you are very clear on what EXACTLY your goal is!

M- Measurable

To make a goal measurable, you have to include amounts, dates, lengths of time, etc, so you have something to measure your degree of success.

(If you can’t measure your goal, then how will you know if you are progressing?)

If you feel like your goal is impossible to measure, then you can write down the physical manifestations of the goal.

You can write down what you would hear, feel, see, smell, and taste as a way to measure it.

I know it sounds wacky, but just hear me out.

When you describe the physical manifestations of your goal, you can make your goal realistic.

You can imagine yourself achieving the goal, which unconsciously makes you believe you already achieved it. This makes it less work for you because your brain knows that it is possible.

By the way, I do think that pretty much any goal can have quantitative measurements to it.

I mean even the goal of finding your passion can be made into, I want to find my passion in life, by trying a different activity that interests me, after work, 3 nights a week for the next 6 months.

Making your goal measurable allows you to add more than just direction but clarity and feelings which makes your goals feel realistic.

A- Attainable

The next letter in SMART is A and that stands for attainable.

This means you have to take the time and figure out if your goal is something that you can accomplish.

Too many times we set impossible goals.

Like I’m going to make a million dollars in my business in the next 6 months when you haven’t even made your first dollar.

When your goal isn’t something that you can complete then you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Subconsciously you’ll start to believe that you aren’t able to achieve your goals.

To make sure your goal is attainable you have to verify how realistic your goal is.

Do you have enough time, money, knowledge, resources to attain your goal?

Seriously, sit down and write how it is you will achieve this goal and be realistic about what you need to succeed.

If you don’t have enough time or enough resources to accomplish your goal, then don’t get discouraged.

Put that goal on the back burner and come up with another attainable goal.

R-Relevant

Out of the 5 letters, you probably think that this one, R- relevant, is the most obvious of them all.

You’ll be surprised to know how many people get this wrong when it comes to making their goal.

When I say that your goal needs to be relevant, I don’t mean that it is only appropriate to the time of your life, I mean much more than that.

You need to know if this goal worth your while.

Is this goal appropriate to your needs?

Are you the right person to achieve this goal?

You have to make sure that your goal aligns with your vision of your life.

You need to know why this goal is important to your life.

Your goal needs to motivate you and get you excited to wake up in the morning, as well as drive you forward.

Although you will need assistance in making your goal come true, because we all need help and support in our lives, you have to make sure that you don’t heavily rely on someone else to make your goal possible.

Since this is your goal and you are the one that cares most about it, you need to make sure you’re the one in control.

Go through your goal and make sure it aligns with your beliefs and values.

Make sure your goal is relevant.

T-Timely

It’s nice to set a goal and imagine what it will be like when you accomplish it.

Yes, your goal sounds amazing.

Yes, your goals will do great things for your life but the truth is it won’t do anything at all if you don’t act upon it.

If your goals remain just a goal and you never do anything to make it a reality, then what’s the point of even setting it.

The most important part in my opinion to making a goal smart is setting a deadline.

You have to set a date so that you are motivated to make progress every day.

You have to make sure you adhere to your deadline so that you don’t slack off.

Because if you do slack off, a goal that should take you a month or two to accomplish, could now take you a year or more because of it.

Just remember when setting your deadline that you do leave a little wiggle room because life is life, and shit happens!

As you can see making a goal SMART allows your goal to provide clarity, focus, and gives you a greater chance of making your goals a reality.

5 Tips and Reminders for SMART Goals

To make sure you truly understand what SMART goals are and help you with setting them, I want to give you 5 tips.

Write your goals down

You have your goal. Yet, you haven’t written it down.

Why not?

Did you know that when you write your goal down you are 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to achieve your goal than those who don’t? (Source).

Isn’t that crazy how something so simple as writing down your goal, helps you to achieve them?

Now that you know you need to write down your goal, what are you waiting for?

Go write it down right now and place it in a spot where you will see it every day!

Make an action plan

So you have your goal, it’s written down, so what’s next?

You need to make an action plan.

Take some time and write down the steps you need to take to achieve your goal.

This way you know exactly what you need to do so you won’t get sidetracked.

Take action

A lot of times when you set a goal, that’s it.

You set a goal and forget about it.

This means you pretty much wasted your time because you are not taking any action to make that goal come true.

What’s the point of making a goal if it is only going to remain a dream?

You have to take action each day to make your goal come true so you can move toward your dream life.

Yes, this will be hard at first but the more you take action the easier it will get because you will know what you need to do next, and you will create a positive habit.

Stick with it

There are going to be stumbling blocks when you are trying to achieve your goals.

You’re going to fail at times and you’re going to get off track.

The most important thing is that you keep going.

You have to stick with it.

If you give up, then all the work that you have done to get to where you are, won’t matter.

If you give up, your goal will remain a dream, a what-if, and possibly a regret.

Be open

When you create an action plan, you plan what steps you need to take to achieve your goal.

Thing is, nothing ever goes as planned.

Don’t do this.

Don’t freak out.

Most importantly don’t give up.

Keep going.

The road to achieving your goal will look different than what you imagined it would look like.

Rest assured, that this does not mean that you are failing or your goal isn’t meant to be.

You have to be open.

Be open to the new path and the journey you are about to go on.

When a new path appears, remember to let the same goal be your guide.

SMART Goals FAQ

What are the 5 SMART Goals?
- The five SMART goals are:
  - S-Specific, Make sure your goal is clear and well defined
  - M-Measurable, Make sure your goal includes exact amounts, dates, length of time, or manifestations like what you will see, hear, smell, taste, and feel when you achieve your goal
  - A-Attainable, Make sure your goal is something that you can accomplish with the resources, time, money, knowledge, that you have available.
  - R-Relevant, Make sure your goal aligns with your vision of your life and is worth your while
  - T-Timely, make sure you set a deadline for when your goal needs to be accomplished by

What is a SMART Goal example?
- A SMART goal example is, “I will obtain a position as a Lead Teacher at Early Head Start within 6 months of graduating with my Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education.”

What does SMART goal stand for?
- Smart stands for- S-specific, M-measurable, A-attainable, R-relevant, T-Timely

How do you explain SMART goals?
- A SMART goal is a tool that you use to set well-established goals and objectives so that you are more likely to succeed in achieving your goals.

The Last Thing You Need To Know About SMART Goals

Writing down goals is great and all but achieving them is the best!

The feeling you get when you know you hit your goal and your life is going in the right direction is all that and a bag of chips!

Do people still say that?

Well, whatever you want to call it!

The best way to go about achieving your goal is to make sure that your goal is set up properly in the first place.

You have to make sure your goal is SMART.

To give you some more help with setting your goal up the right way, check out my FREE Smart Goals Planning Workbook.

Not only does this Goal Planning Worksheet take you step by step through making your goal SMART, but it also helps you:

Identify your why
Figure out the benefits to your goal
Create an action plan
List the obstacles you will face
Find solutions to your obstacles
And so much more!

Get if for FREE right now by signing up below.

Start making your dreams a reality.

Remember Love Always and Spread Bliss,

Ree

What are Smart Goals and Why They Are VERY NECESSARY To Making Your Dream A Reality!