Goals, goals goals

Posted on August 8, 2008
Filed Under personal development

You can’t start the journey without knowing where you’re going.

You, my friend, need a plan.

Dennis Hopper

Where are you going? Do you have a plan? Do you have goals? Are they written down? When was the last time you looked at your goals?

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Everyone has heard of SMART goals. SMART stands for:

Specific

Goals must be clear and unambiguous. A goal should have a specific outcome or event. For example, I want to lose weight is not as good as I will lose five pounds by….

Measurable

When goals are specific you can measure your progress - if your goals are not measurable, you never know whether you are making progress toward its completion.

Achievable

Can the objective be achieved with a reasonable amount of effort and application?

Let me give you an example. Lets say you are playing basketball with your 6 year old brother. Not exactly a competitive game. Now, imagine playing a game with Michael Jordan. Again, not exactly a competitive game. Now imagine a game with your best friend, Bob. You are evenly matched, every time you play its a close game. Thats the way you need to set your goals.

Relevant

Your goal must be in harmony with your core values and your life purpose. Judith Wright talks about this in her book The One Decision.

“The One Decision is a personal commitment about how you are going to live your life. It is not a small step or a good decision. It is the One Decision you can make that will completely change your life…. It is a decision so powerful that it becomes a touchstone you orient to when making every other decision.”

When your are clear on your vision, on your ONE decision, and your goals are in alignment with that, they become easier to attain.

Timebound

Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards. Your goal must have deadlines and sub deadlines - for example - you have a goal to purchase a house by a certain date, but you will also have deadlines for saving a down payment, researching the market, finding an agent,etc.

***

It is not only important to have SMART written goals but you also need a plan on how to achieve them. This is where reverse engineering comes into play. This is where you divide the goal-setting process into smaller achievable steps. First you define your desired outcome. Then you apply a time frame for making it happen. Next you work backwards by systematically identifying all the things that need to happen, and all the things you need to do, along a time line. Eventually you get to what I need to do today to achieve my goal(s). Then its a case of working the plan, and if your goals have clarity (they are measurable and specific) you can measure your progress and revise your goals as you go along.

SMART goals are left brained. In general, the left side of the brain processes information in a linear, sequential, logical manner. It processes from part to whole. The left side of the brain deals with things the way they are-with reality.

The right side of the brain uses intuition, emotion and non-verbal processing. It processes from the whole to the smaller parts. The right side allows us to see creative, alternative solutions. The right side is “big picture” oriented.

In order to maximize achieving your goals, you should use both sides of your brain. SAFE goals are right brain oriented. More about SAFE goals in a future post.

TAGS: alignment, core values, goals, life purpose, objective, ONE decision, personal development, safe goals, smart goals, trcoach