Have you ever set a personal goal for yourself like, “I want a better job” or “I want to lose weight,” only to wake up 6 months later and you’re in the exact same situation?
Wow, I must be just terrible at accomplishing things. Or maybe it’s because my goals were terrible. Yes, they are desirable, but goals like that are vague and overly broad. They actually prevent you from getting what you want in life and let’s face it they make you feel defeated.
I tend to set goals like these. My goal-making process I have recovered is broken, and gets in the wayof achieving things I want in my life. So, I’ve decided instead of using goals so move toward a larger aspiration, that become impediments. I’m not going to let my goals use me.
There is a difference between goals and aspirations. If I think of the last few goals I’ve made the list goes like this,
- Read more books
- Lose weight
- Control my spending
- Eat healthier
These are not goals they are aspirations masquerading as goals. When I say some like I want to control my spending, what I really mean is I want to be financially secure,
The secret to everything I believe is starting to set short-term goals. Maybe many short term goals that build on each other. Maybe our personal goals need to stop being big, and non-defined and just be simple, measurable, attainable and relevant.
So, what’s a short-term goal? Short term goals should bridge the divide from where we are to where we want to be in a way you can actually achieve them. Short term goals are short for a reason, they should be things that can be accomplished within a quick period of time.
Sometimes it’s the short-term actions that help us discover what we want our long term goals should be.
Living your life without goals is like using you’re retirement to try and win the lottery. Without goals were just going through life hoping for improvements. Hope is important but not a strategy.
Goals are genius, they aren’t a magical ability that achieve great things. I used to think people who were good at achieving personal goals were born that way
In my reading I have found something called The Smart Goal Technique. What’s that?
Simple – Put into a few words and make it straightforward. More than that you will begin to feel overwhelmed.
Measurable – Your goal should be easily quantifiable. Find a way to tell whether you are doing it or not -something trackable.
Attainable – Be reasonable with yourself. Deciding to run every day when you haven’t ran since high school is a high bar to set. It’s great to be ambitious in the long term, but short term goals should be achievable.
Relevant – Ask yourself why this goal is important. Does it enhance or conflict with your larger goals? Does it align with your current physical, mental, and financial reality?
Time-based – Goals should have a time frame assigned to them. So, up you can adjust or improve on them as you go.
From my reading I learned that losing weight is not a goal. How will I know if I’m on track or not? Eating healthier is not a goal. How will I know at any given moment if I’m doing it?
If I do not try to be someone who can 3 miles a day.I can aspire to someone who lives a lifestyle that allows me to run 3 miles a day.
To lose weight I have to eat a healthy diet and exercise daily. Each of these things can be turned into a Smart Goal to reach the outcome of being a person who can run 3 miles a day.
From Pity to Praise 