Why Set Goals?

Goal setting is essential if you want to achieve your ambitions and dreams. It opens your mind to envision your path ahead and encourages you to take the necessary steps to turn your dreams into reality. With the right goals in place, it is possible to turn any ambition into reality.

Having said that, setting goals can be a daunting task, especially when you don’t know exactly where to begin. However, with the right guidance and support, you can learn how to set achievable and meaningful goals that will help you reach your highest potential.

One way to accomplish your goals is by using the SMART framework. Setting SMART goals is a proven and effective framework which helps you clearly identify what you want to achieve while understanding the importance, tracking progress and keeping the goal realistic. With SMART goals, you can keep yourself motivated and inspired to reach greater heights!

What are SMART Goals?

SMART goals are the key to achieving your goals, from career aspirations to personal well-being. This acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. It serves as a valuable tool to help anyone set their goals in an efficient and effective manner. By following the SMART formula, you can ensure your goals are achievable and relevant to your personal or professional life. Let’s dive deep into the details of the SMART elements below:

Specific

Having a clear vision for your goals is essential in order to stay motivated and achieve success. Without clearly defined objectives, you can easily become discouraged or lose sight of your ultimate goal. When you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, it helps you stay focused on the task at hand and gives you the motivation to keep pushing forward.

I will use my own career goal as an example. My goal was to have a career as a payroll professional but this is vague and vast. To make it specific, I set my goal as “I want to complete the Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certificate in one year”.

Measurable

Tracking your progress is an essential part of any successful goal. It provides invaluable insight into how well you are doing and what areas you need to focus on in order to reach your goal. By keeping an accurate record of your successes and failures, you can ensure that you stay on track and make steady progress towards your goals. With the help of modern tracking tools, this process can be made easier and more efficient. Whether it’s a simple spreadsheet or an app that can help you record your progress, there are plenty of options available for you to choose from that can make tracking and adjusting your goals much easier.

For my goal, I researched the course requirements for the PCP certificate and found that I had to do three courses to get certified. Since I was working full time, I could only do one course at a time. My measurable goal was “I will complete one course in the winter, one in the summer and the last one in the fall”.

Achievable

Is your goal achievable at the moment? Setting clear, achievable goals is key to reaching success. Even if the aim seems out of reach at the moment, you can break it down and focus on the resources and steps needed to get there. Envision what kind of environment, skills and resources are required for you to achieve your goal.

For me, going to a class was not convenient so my achievable goal was “I will sign up for the online study option and follow the set timetable”.

Relevant

Make sure your goal is meaningful and important to you by reflecting on its significance. Does it stand out from your other priorities? It is important to ensure that the goal you set for yourself is meaningful and important to you. Reflecting on its significance can help you understand if this is the right time for you to pursue it or whether it would be better off for later. Asking questions like, “Why does this goal matter to me?”, “How will I benefit from achieving it?” and “What will the consequences be of not achieving it?” can help you gain clarity on why your goal is meaningful and important.

Continuing with my example, my goal was relevant to me because I wanted a successful career and for that I had to be certified in order to get a good job in the Payroll field.

When you can see the relevance of your goal, it will keep you motivated and focused on achieving it. You will find it easier to stay on track to reach your goal and even if you see yourself falling off track, you will be able to make the required changes to keep going. However, on the other hand if there is no relevance, and you are not passionate about your goal, you will drop the ball along the way.

Timely

Make sure that the timeframe set for the goal is achievable and not too long or too short. This will help you meet the deadline efficiently and reach your goal. Too long of a timeframe can lead to procrastination and frustration, with no end result in sight. A very short timeframe which doesn’t give you enough time to get to your goal will result in a similar outcome, and you would be tempted to give up. It is very important that you analyze your situation and decide on how much time you would like to allocate yourself for your dream to become a reality.

For my goal, I set a time frame of one year to complete all three courses.

Remember that the SMART goal framework can be utilized for all the different types of goals you want to achieve in your life. Use it to set your educational goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, break a bad habit, start a good habit, get more active, take control of your emotions, eat well, improve your productivity, break an addiction, and anything else that you want to do to improve the quality of your life.

Next time you set goals, remember the SMART framework. It will help you accomplish your objectives more efficiently and effectively. Your goals will be more meaningful and you will continue to be inspired to turn your vision into reality.

SMART Goal Wizard

To get you started and soaring towards achieving your goals in no time, we have created our very own SMART Goal Wizard. This amazing tool will help you create a personalized worksheet which you can download for FREE and use as your guide while you work away on achieving success.

SMART Goal Wizard

We look forward to your feedback and success stories. Please share in the comments below. Need help? Feel free to reach out.