Smart goal setting with SMARTer goals

SMART Goal Setting is great, but did you know that SMARTer Goals are Better?

OK...you have set SMART goals that maximize your chances of goal setting success. This puts you on the top rung of the goal setting ladder. Just by doing this you already have great skills for setting and achieving goals.

But there are two questions you can ask of your SMART goals.

  1. Are you setting goals that are energizing?
  2. Are you setting goals that are well-resourced and reviewed often?

SMART goal setting

There is very clear evidence that there is a right way to go about goal setting - which is by following the principles of SMART goals. There are many variants of SMART goals and one that I like is goals that are:

Specific

Measurable

Action-based

Realistic

Time-bound

SMART goals work but if you want to really do some smart goal setting then you need two extra things:

  1. Energizing goals, and
  2. Regularly reviewed and well-resourced goals.

This is where SMARTer goals come into their own. These two extra things bring your SMART goals literally to life.

Energizing

Are your SMART goals energetic, exciting and ethical?

Your goals need to reflect your values and you must be passionate about achieving them.

By having goals that are energizing and exciting, you are motivated to keep going to achieve your goals.

Reviewed and Resourced

With the best of intentions, millions of people set goals each New Year, only to realize that they are setting the same goals as last year.

This is because many people set and forget goals, and as a result never achieve what they were aiming for.

Setting goals is an active process and reviewing progress and adjusting your goals is important for goal success. For example, I sometimes work with injured athletes.

Often I have them review their goals to take into account their injury and adjust the goals accordingly. Life can be much the same!

Things happen that require you to adjust your goals as the need arises. This is why it is important to review your goals. Having the resources to achieve your goal is important also.

For example, lets consider the resource of time and effort. If you are not prepared to put in the time and effort to make a change then it is unlikely that you will make the sacrifices to achieve your goals.

SMART goals that you are passionate about and reviewed on a regular basis become SMARTer goals.

SMART or SMARTer goals form an important part of your goal setting toolkit. They provide the framework to maximize the chances of making today's dreams into tomorrow's reality.

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