Last time, I shared how you can set your goals for the new year. Of course, there’s a little more to goal-setting than just writing down the goals. And I wouldn’t want you to get tired after one or two months, so let’s discuss how to ensure that your goals are effective and strong enough to stand the test of one whole year.
You must have heard about the S.M.A.R.T. acronym in goal-setting. Making sure that your goals are SMART is a very good way to increase the chances of their achievement. Let us understand the SMART acronym and some other essentials.
- Your goals must be Specific. Anything that is not specific is really not achievable. Being specific will help you to be certain that the goal has been achieved. “I want to lose weight” is not specific. “I want to save money” is not specific. “Lose 20kg” is specific. “Save one million naira” is specific.
- Your goals should be Measurable. This means that you should be able to divide your goals into smaller chunks that can be measured. It should be easy for you to track your goals and how far you have come in achieving them. This is especially important when you’re setting goals over a long period of time like a year.
- Your goals must be Attainable. This calls for you to be realistic when you envision the goals you set. You need to consider the resources and options available to you. Setting an unrealistic goal is like buying a ticket into the land of frustration.
- Let your goals be Relevant. Determine what you want to do and the season of life you’re in. Does this goal fit into the big picture? There’s no point setting a goal that doesn’t take you where you want to go.
- Your goals should be Time-bound. This simply means that you should have a fixed deadline by which time you want to see those goals achieved. Setting goals for the New Year makes this easy for you. Your end point can be December 31 2020 (or any time you want).
That’s it for the SMART acronym, but there’s a little more that would help you:
- Your goal should be aligned with your values. By now, you should have a better understanding of your values. Try not to set goals that are at variance with your values. You will find it really hard to achieve those goals because you’ll feel like you’re going against yourself. If you’re yet to understand your values, you can still assess yourself by downloading The PAID Workbook for free here at thelifeaholic.com.
- Beside each goal, write down the reason WHY you want to achieve that goal. After the new year celebrations, things will go back to ‘normal’, and life will get busy. At that point, it would seem much easier for you to abandon your goals. However, having a really strong WHY can be a huge motivational factor for you to keep going.
Well, you’ve been empowered some more on how to easily and effectively set the right goals. It’s time for you to get to it. All the best with the process!
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