Is Your Goal Setting SMART?

Hey misfits! Today I want to ask you: Is your Goal Setting SMART? Yes, that’s right. It’s one of my favourite topics.

Is your Goal Setting SMART?

No, I didn’t just make a comment on your intelligence. No, I’m not asking if you’re smart. So don’t be dropping in my inbox with all of that. What I want to know is have you been looking at your goals the right way? SMART is usually an acronym that has its own meaning and surprise, surprise, I have my Dana Maree version of it.

Specific.

Are your goals specific enough? Yeah, when you’re setting your goals, you might be writing a whole bunch of stuff that you want in your life, which is great. When it comes to actually creating an action plan, your specific goal needs to be specific enough that you can write the steps on how to get there. So when you say, hey, Dana, I really want to be happy. No shit, we all really want to be happy. What do you need to get there, what does that look like for you?

When you’re looking at actually writing down the goals on your list, you need make sure you’ve been specific enough so that when it comes to actually putting steps in place as to how to get there, you have a result at the end, an outcome, that you know you are working towards to get there.

Motivation.

If you don’t have the right ‘Why’ behind your goal, it’s going to become another thing you really don’t care about but feel pressured to do. You’re probably going to end up procrastinating about it. If your Why is coming from a space of shame, guilt and fear, you’re not going to put the same effort into it. Or you’re going to get really down about not achieving it because it’s not coming from a good space.

When it’s coming from a space of drive and passion, you’re going to be 10 times more likely to put that energy in. This is because you know how it’s making you feel, and you really want to achieve it. So look at what the motivating factor is behind that goal in the first place before you get too far into trying to do it.

Ambitious.

Be ambitious with your goals. Now the original system I think lists “A” as achievable. I think that’s such a cop out way to say it, because you’re instantly putting a ceiling on yourself by saying “make sure that your goals are achievable,” – as if you know what’s achievable for you! Chances are with the mindset work that you’ve been working on, you’ve probably realised that what is actually achievable for you is beyond what you’ve been telling yourself is achievable.

Instead, look at ambitious goals. Dream big.

It might not necessarily happen the way that you put on your vision board – this big, beautiful goal. But you are still working towards something that you’re passionate about; something that is lighting you up.

When you’re coming out of your comfort zone, and you’re allowing yourself to reach beyond what is familiar, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to experience new things, to look into new directions. Maybe you’re going to discover a part of yourself that you didn’t know was there, and you wouldn’t have figured out if you had stayed in your comfort zone.

When thinking about what’s ambitious for you, think about what’s going to push you at that little bit out of your comfort zone – that’s going to give you the opportunity to really experience something new, and open up your eyes and a whole new way.

Relevant.

Make sure your goals are relevant to you, and the journey that you’re on. If you’re trying to go after goals because of someone else, because a societal imposed milestones, because your parents told you this is the stuff that you should be achieving. That is not going to get you where you want to go. Instead, you’re going to get resentment and end up building a life that you don’t recognise. You don’t want to wake up in 10 years and look at yourself and look at your life and go, who the fuck did I build this for.

You want to be creating goals and a future for yourself that drives you to get where you want to go. So when you’re looking at your goals, ask yourself, who am I doing this goal for? Why am I doing this goal? Make sure it’s relevant to you and your specific path.

Time.

You do not have to have a deadline to be able to put a goal on your list. That is one thing that I absolutely hate about the original system. This concept, this idea, that you have to put a scheduled time and deadline to be able to put it on your list. How many things do you not put on your List because you can’t imagine the how of how it’s going to happen. Don’t worry about the how, that’s up to future you to work on.

Maybe it’s not a goal that you necessarily want to work on right now. It might be something that down the track, you want to remember that it’s something you want to achieve. So make sure you’re still putting it on your List! Even if you don’t know the how, even if you don’t know the when. You just know that deep down, it’s something that you want to experience and do for yourself.

When the time comes that you go, “yeah, I’m ready for that upgrade, let’s work on it!” That’s when you figure out the when, because you need that to be able to create the action plan to move forward.

So those ones again: Make sure it’s Specific. Make sure you’ve got the right Motivation. Make sure they’re Ambitious, Relevant to you, and put a Time on it – eventually! When you’re ready to actually work on it.

Go on. Do the thing.

Stay Fierce,

P.S If you’re ready to get serious about turning your goals into your reality, and start living Fierce AF – let’s do this.

Original post here: Is Your Goal Setting SMART?