Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! As we prepare to enter 2016, I would like to share a few tips and guidelines that helped me create my goals for this previous year. These tips were attained by using the S.M.A.R.T. goal formats.
First off, what is a S.M.A.R.T. goal? It is a goal which is created using 5 requirements that spell the acronym, “smart”. These 5 requirements are that your goal must be: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. Let’s look at these in a closer light.
Specific: Your goal must narrow down your wish to just exactly what you want. For instance you cannot just say, “I want to be rich,” as that is a very broad term. Instead you have to make a goal such as, “I want to possess a million dollars.” This way you will know how the exact properties of your goal.
Measurable: You must be able to see how far along you are in completing your goal or you will never know when you have finished it and will likely feel demotivated along the way. It will help to make a chart, graph, or thermometer depending on your goal. As with the above example of owning a million dollars, it would be helpful to make a chart so you can see your progress growing.
Achievable: I know we are supposed to shoot for the stars, but make sure that your goals are attainable. However, remember that your goal must be hard enough to attain so that you actually put some work and elbow-grease into it. In certain cases though, it is better to start with a smaller goal and work your way up. If you want to possess a million dollars in savings and have never made more than 20,000 a year, it might be a good idea to start with a smaller number.
Relevant: Ask yourself if your goal is relevant to you. If your spouse decided they wanted to own a million dollars and you don’t care if you do, you are not going to work as hard as you can on achieving that goal. Also, make sure you are not just making a goal for the sake of making one but are actually promising yourself you will accomplish it.
Time-based: Your goal NEEDS (let me say that again) NEEDS to have a deadline. If it doesn’t have a deadline, your intentions and goal are out floating around in nowhere. If you make promises to own a million dollars someday, chances are that someday will never come. Instead pick a specific date. It could be January 1st 2017 or it could span for more or less than a year depending on the intensity and nature of the goal. The important thing is you need to have a date to hold yourself accountable. That way, when your deadline rolls around, you have to look at yourself at decide if you accomplished your goal or not.
I hope these tips helped you. They helped me quite a bit. I will be posting another blog on which kind of goals to make shortly. Happy New Year!