Understanding SMART Goal Setting
As I young man I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I watched Richard Branson become hugely successful and he became my first aspirational character. But for a lad from the South Wales valleys, living in a council house with both parents unemployed, this was about as far from ‘realistic’ as me going to the moon!
But it didn’t stop me dreaming… though back then, I had no idea how to create a vision, set goals and make a plan.
Fast forward 40 years or so and I’m far more aware of what needs to be done to create, develop and achieve my vision. But there are many ways people go about this.
Strategic Coach founder, Dan Sullivan creates a 25yr plan for his life, sets goals for each year within that plan and reviews it regularly. He’s been quoted as making plans to live until he’s 156… no, that’s not a typo, he’s anticipating living until he’s 156.
Now I’m not suggesting you should do the same, I’m not even saying I necessarily agree with a 25yr strategy, but I do agree with the principle of forward planning and setting goals.
As Jim Rohn says, “A life best lived is a life by design, not by accident”
If someone were to ask you right now what your goals were for the next 12 months, 5 years or even for the next 25 years, could you answer?
Whatever your age today, it’s never too late to begin this process… as Andy Stace says, ‘the best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago, but the second-best time is today!’
Effective Goal Setting can change your life forever.
Use your imagination and create Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs).
Think about it, everything that’s ever been created was created twice, first in the creator’s mind, then in reality. The wheel, the car, the ship, the airplane, space travel, cities, medical breakthroughs… and even your business!
Tap into your imagination, it’s an incredible resource. Create your future rather than let it happen to you. Use images to continually remind you of this Vision and keep these images in places that will constantly remind you why you’re doing what you do. Create a vision board (there’s one in travect.io)
Effective Goal Setting can change your life forever
But before you begin, I want you to concentrate on the future, not the past. Too many of us dwell on the past and allow it more influence on our goal setting that it deserves. Yes, review and learn from the past but don’t let past experiences become your anchor.
This isn’t easy, we ‘know’ our past experiences, but the future is unknown, and you must allow this unknown to become a fertile playground for your imagination.
Focus your attention on what you want to achieve, or more importantly, who you want to become. No limitations, no excuses, no ‘mañana moments’.
Set ambitious goals, and make sure they stretch you. They will act as magnets. The bigger they are, the stronger the pull they will have, not only on YOU but on the world around you.
The ‘noise’ we all face each day can pull you in all sorts of directions, but clear goals and a clear vision will help you through any and all setbacks that may occur from time to time.
It’s not just setting the goal, it’s what the desire will make you do to accomplish it. And that will bring far greater value than the result itself.
As your journey towards your goals progresses, the process will provide focus, shape your character and stretch you beyond the limits you thought you had.
Create your goals with 3 important elements, make sure they are inspirational… you must believe in them and you must be able to act on them… else they will remain just dreams!
So, how do we begin this process of Goal Setting?
Well, Jim Rohn says there are 4 main things you should consider…
- Evaluate & Reflect
If you want to get to San Francisco, how could you plan the journey without first knowing where you are to begin with? So how happy are you with where you are and what you’re doing today? Are you satisfied? The Wheel of Life tool in travectio can help you with this.
- Dreams & Goals
Take some time to decide what you really want… not what someone else wants for you, or what they think you should have, or what our society or culture tells us we should be, do or have. What are YOUR dreams and goals? What does YOUR heart say? Who do YOU want to become?
- Think SMART
We’ve all heard the acronym Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely… but I have a slight challenge with a couple of these…
Specific – Don’t leave room for vagueness or ambiguity, state exactly what you want. Instead of, “I’d like to be a successful business owner”… use, “I will own 3 businesses, each in a different sector and generating 150k net profit after taxes”.
Measurable – Quantification is vital. How else will you know? This is the difference between ‘successful’ and ‘150k net profit’.
Achievable – Be honest about what can be accomplished… consider your current family and business-related responsibilities… BUT don’t be afraid to stretch yourself.
Realistic – Now most people will say your goals have to be ‘realistic’, but as a Renegade, I’d encourage you to stretch this element too…. Was the dream to fly realistic? Was the dream to reach the moon realistic? Is the desire to cure disease realistic? Just because we don’t yet know how to achieve it, doesn’t mean we can’t have the dream…. Problem is, if I encouraged you to have Unrealistic goals, it would mean I’d have to change the acronym to SMOUT and that just doesn’t have the same ring to it…
Timely – A goal without a timescale for completion will simply become another, ‘mañana moment’… ‘I’ll get around to it’ doesn’t work. Set a deadline and do everything you can to meet it.
- Accountability
And the most important ingredient in successful goal setting is accountability… to give an account. Sharing your goals with an ‘accountability partner’ will give them an opportunity to hold you to account, to encourage and challenge you.
What gets measured gets managed… but what gets reported gets managed exponentially.
Write your goals down, better still, put them in travectio. This way your fellow Renegades can help hold you accountable and push you to achieve more, be more and have more.
Also Consider
Now, taking all of the above into consideration, I would urge you to create your “Vision and goals in concrete but your plans to achieve them in sand”…
What I mean by that, is that it’s often the case that the universe has the ability to throw us a curve ball now and again. So be flexible enough to change the plan to achieve your goals, without having to change the goal or your ultimate vision.
Just having a goal doesn’t motivate us. Think about New Year’s resolutions that you made but failed to keep. Maybe you decided that you should lose some weight, but then never put a clear plan in action? Maybe you decided that you would read more but didn’t. Why did your goal fail?
This is why constant evaluation, is so important. Regularly set aside some time, find a quiet place, away from distraction and give yourself time to think. Consider what you have accomplished as this will continuously motivate you to move forward.
So, don’t waste anymore of your valuable time… it’s the one resource you can’t buy, so get that tree planted… here’s my 30-day challenge to you;
- Go deep within & pull out your dreams and goals, however ambitious they may seem
- Break down large goals into smaller, manageable sub-goals
- Create a list, prioritise them and give them deadlines
- Write them down, upload them into travectio, share them with your accountability partner(s)
- Review them regularly, preferably daily but at least weekly
- In 30 days, tell everyone in Renegades how you’ve done!
