Successful people know the importance of setting goals.  Goal setting is one of the most important habits that you should develop.  However, in order for goals to be effective, they need to be SMART.  Smart goals have the following characteristics:

 

 

 

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

 

Specific

A specific goal is one that contains very specific details about what you are trying to accomplish.  For instance, instead of setting a goal like “I want to be rich”, set a goal such as “My goal is to accumulate $1 million dollars.”

Measurable

It is also very important that your goal be measurable.   Remember the old adage that you can’t manage what you can’t measure.  So instead of saying “My goal is to lose weight”, say “My goal is to lose 15 pounds”.  Fifteen pounds is a specific and measurable goal.

Achievable

You goal should be challenging and yet achievable.  Don’t set yourself up for failure.  You can always make the goal more challenging once you achieve your original goal, but don’t sign up to do something that you know you cannot do.  This will only lead to disappointments and will negatively impact your self-esteem.  So instead of saying “I will be a millionaire by the end of the month”, maybe you can set your goal to be “I will save $300 a month for the next 10 years in order to become a millionaire in the next 40 years”.  Please see the post One Million Dollars Generators for an explanation of why $300 a month is an important amount for becoming a millionaire.

Relevant

Your goal needs to be relevant to your objectives.  If your goal doesn’t move you closer to what you want to achieve, then there is no point in setting the goal.  For example, if your objective is to improve your fitness level, instead of setting a goal of watching less TV (how is that alone going to help increase your fitness level?), set your goal as “I will exercise for at least 30 minutes four days a week”.

Time-Bound

Last, but not least, your goal needs to be time-bound.  You must give yourself a deadline for achieving your goal.  So, take any of the examples given above, add the words ‘by’, followed by the specific time, day, month or year when you will achieve your goal.  Remember to keep the goal challenging but achievable, so don’t give yourself a deadline that you know you cannot achieve.

These are the five components of SMART goals.  Write down your SMART goals and look at them on a regular basis.  Do not establish more than 10 goals at a time.  As you achieve your goals, mark them as complete and add new ones.

If you do a good job establishing SMART goals as suggested above and follow through on working towards achieving your goals you will be on your way to success.