SMART Goals

    Setting goals will give you a sense of purpose, focus your limited time and energy on what's really important, and motivate you to achieve something meaningful to you.

    Ultimately, setting goals is about intentionally creating the life that you want; one step at a time.

    Goal setting is necessary in order to give you a purpose and mission when it comes to virtually anything you are doing in life and work.

    Without goals that are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) it’s super easy to lose motivation, purpose, and direction.

    Goals are put in place as a way to help you stay focused and give you a tangible outcome to work towards - by creating SMART goals you are ensuring that you’re setting yourself up for success and have as much clarity as you possibly need.

    This is true for all things where you can properly set goals, notably projects you take on at work, and even your personal finances. Using the SMART methodology and practice is a way to blueprint your way to reaching those goals.

Set your goals high and don't stop till you reach there.

Only when one works at the smart goal, tracks their progress, is consistent, and learns from whatever is not working for them. It's all good and well when one puts a smart goal into place and works on it whenever one feels like working on it. Yet without the consistency, then that smart goal shall never be achieved.

To get the ideas flowing, try asking yourself the following questions:

1. Do you remember what your goals were as a child? As a teenager?

2. Fast-forward to when you’re sitting in that rocking chair in your old age: what advice would you give your younger self?

3. Fast-forward a little further: how do you want people to remember you when you’re gone?

4. How do you want to spend your time? What does your ideal day look like?

5. What do you want to learn?

6. Who do you want to spend your time with?

Try to think of different areas of your life: health and fitness, career, family, personal development... And aim for a mix of ambitious and more achievable goals, personal and externally focused, educational and fun, short-term, and long-term.

What does SMART mean? 

Source: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/

S – Specific: Getting specific on the goals that you want to achieve will give you more clarity on what success looks like, and help you to identify the concrete steps that will get you there.

M – Measurable: If you can’t measure your goal, then how will you know if you’ve achieved it? How will you track your progress?

A – Achievable: Goals that may seem completely out of your reach can become achievable if you break them down into smaller steps and give yourself a reasonable time frame in which to achieve them.

R – Relevant: A relevant goal is a goal that is meaningful to you, as well as being relevant to the wider context, to what’s going on in the world around you, personally and professionally.

T – Time-bound: Finally, setting a deadline will help you to focus and will also give you a sense of urgency, which can motivate you to act now rather than putting it off until later