SMART Goals!
(Click on above Image for larger size)
At the start of each new year we sit down to write our yearly goals.
There are many, many ways to write goals… and many opinions on what works best. We have found one way to write goals that in our opinion makes a whole lot of good sense. We write our goals as SMART goals.
What are SMART Goals? As outlined in the mindmap above and in the descriptions below, SMART Goals are…
S | = | Specific |
M |
= | Measurable |
A |
= | Attainable |
R |
= | Realistic |
T |
= | Tangible |
Specific: There is a greater chance of achieving a specific goal than a general goal. For a goal to be specific, answer the six “W” questions:
- Who: Who is involved?
- What: What do I want to accomplish?
- Where: Identify a location.
- When: Establish a time frame.
- Why: Specific reasons or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
Measurable: Determine a concrete way to measure your progress towards the attainment of each goal. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as: How much? How many? How will I know if I achieve this goal?
Attainable: If the goals you set are important to you, you will start to figure out ways to make them come true. You will develop the attitude, abilities, skills and financial capacity to reach them.
Any goal is achievable if you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you the space to carry out those steps. Goals that seemed out of reach become attainable because you grow to match them.
Realistic: For a goal to be realistic it has to represent something that you are both willing and able to work towards. A goal can be high and realistic… it all depends on you. Make sure that each goal leads to substantial progress. If a goal is set too low, there may be little motivation to reach it. A goal is realistic if you truly believe it can be achieved.
Tangible: A goal is tangible if you can experience it with one of the senses… taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing. If a goal is tangible it is easier to make it specific, measurable and attainable.
To make it easier for you to reference SMART goals and the criteria behind them, we have provided the following for your convenience:
SMART Goals as an Interactive Flash File
ENJOY!
Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach
2010-01-04 @ 1:37 pm
Thank you both for this method of goal setting. I’m printing it right now because that’s the SMART thing to do!
Kathryn
Teresa Ivory
2011-01-13 @ 7:24 am
Great reminder! It’s so easy to get busy with other things if you don’t have your SMART list in from of you every day. Your questions and descriptions of using each part of this method are very helpful. Thanks for the downloads.
Willena Flewelling
2011-01-16 @ 2:00 am
I don’t know if the SMART goals are something new, or if I’ve just not heard of them before. But they’ve come up several times from as many different sources in the past couple of weeks. A great and simple way of remembering what goals really need to be in order for us to achieve them! Thanks for sharing!
Willena Flewelling
Pat & Lorna
2011-01-20 @ 7:39 pm
Willena,
It is interesting how many times we’ve seen this come up recently as well. It seems quite a few people see it as a great formula for setting goals we can achieve.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
~ Pat and Lorna
Rapid Gigabitz
2011-01-19 @ 4:36 am
Very well written and intresting post. Big thumbs up! buy i can’t find your RSS! Please help me…
Daniel @ Business Advisor
2011-01-26 @ 10:37 pm
This is a new concept for me. However, it is something I always keep in mind. I really your SMART word grouping. Let’s say every day should be a SMART day. Specific measurable, realistic and tangible goals for each day. Thanks for sharing.