Be SMART: The Guide to Goal Setting

I had the pleasure of being reminded of the acronym SMART last night while sitting in Marketing class over at FPU. As the year is coming to an end we are closing out a year of goals and getting ready for our next I wanted to take a little time to talk about goals.

whether you already have your goals for 2012 set, you are setting them now, or you plan to in the near future, one thing you need to consider is 'are they SMART goals?'

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Timely

I have decided to break this blog down by each letter to give a deeper understanding to goal setting, and just why it is so vital for the success of pretty much anything you do.

When I think of goal setting I am reminded of a great quote I heard through my boss...

:A goal without a plan is just a wish." -Antione de Saint-Exupery

Success is not realistically attainable by going through motions and hoping everything works out in the end.. Be realistic with yourself, Where have your wishes gotten you...other then frustrated that is..








If you really wish to make something happen then the only true way to make it happen is to get off your ass and make it happen. Without a plan, that road to achievement is going to be a whole lot bumpier.

The difference between being successful or being frustrated really is as simple as driving a smoother route and avoiding those annoying little bumps.

So how do you set your goals? It really is simple if you follow the acronym SMART.

The first key is to be SPECIFIC.

When you are setting goals, the more specific you are then the easier the map is to understand. If you have a goal of increasing their income. How are you going to increase your income? What are the necessary actions to do so? What are you willing to do? How much do you want to earn?

these are some simple questions that need to be incorporated into your goals.
Simply stating "I want more money" is not going to get you more money, you need to develop the plan!

The next step in developing great goals is to make sure that these goals are MEASURABLE.

Keeping on the increased income idea, how are you going to measure how much your income increases?
Do you have a log of how much you have made each check? If you job is commission based, do you have a log of how many sales you accomplished last quarter?  Do you have a checklist for the necessary steps to increasing your sales?

If you don't know where you've been, it will be pretty hard to say where you have come from.

With these measurable logs you need to set goals on how to increase your statistics, by doing so you will reach your goal.


As you plan out your goals you need to understand that they need to be ATTAINABLE.

Are these goals withing reach? For instance if you are a personal trainer that wants to increase your income; you understand the more clients that you bring in means more money in your pocket. Last month you brought in 5 clients, the month before that you brought in 4, would it be an attainable goal to say this month you want to bring in 20 new clients?

No.

Is it possible...well anything is. Is it feasible, probably not.


Make a goal that is attainable. The easiest way to get frustrated is to set goals and never reach them. Understand goal setting is about consistent growth, not short term success and getting rich quick.




Are your goals RELEVANT?



If you have an overall goal of increasing your income in the personal training world, would it be relevant to set a goal of attaining a second job? If your goal is to make more money, the key is to put more effort into your craft and generate more business. If you have time for a second job, you have time to increase marketing. Wouldn't it be nice to increase your income, without having to work another job.

In other words, are your goals and actions relevant to your overall goals?

Finally, Are you goals TIMELY?

When designing your goals, the biggest key to reaching them, is deciding when you need to reach them by. Anyone can set a goal, think about that goal, and then put it off until tomorrow. If you give yourself a timeline and a plan of action to accomplish your goals then you should have some significant success towards your goals. After you have reached the deadline, if you have not reached your goals then it is time to reevaluate and decide what can be done better, if the goal was feasible, and how to improve those goals.

Don't wait until it is too late...

Goal setting really is the road map to success. I am not simply talking about success in work, but success in all aspects of your life. The more clear the goals are that you set for yourself, then the easier the pathway is to achieving them.

Setting goals is not about saying one general statement such as "I want more money", a big goal will have goals within itself. These smaller goals pave the way for achievement.

So my challenge to you...

Before 2012 hits, MAKE SURE TO SET YOUR SMART GOALS!



In good health,

God loves you, Mike(y) loves you, so love yourself!