Want to Achieve Your Dreams? Make Your Goals SMART

Most of us have big dreams and aspirations. Whether you want to double your income, launch your own business, get in the best shape of your life, or master a new skill – you likely have some ambitious goal gnawing at you.

And yet, the harsh reality is that the vast majority of people fail to achieve their goals, no matter how much they may want them. Just look at how many New Year‘s Resolutions are abandoned before January is over.

So what separates the small percentage of high achievers who actually follow through on their goals from the masses who are forever stuck in mediocrity? While there are many factors, psychologists and peak performance experts agree that one of the biggest differentiators is the ability to set better goals.

This is where the SMART goal framework comes in. SMART goals are goals that are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

When you shift from vague aspirations like "I want to get healthy" to a specific and actionable SMART goal like "I will lose 15 lbs in the next 3 months by exercising 30 min per day and eliminating sugar" – you go from just dreaming to having a concrete plan.

Numerous studies have validated the effectiveness of SMART goals:

• One study found that 76% of participants who wrote down their goals, shared it with a friend, and sent weekly progress updates achieved their goals – compared to only 43% of those who simply thought about their goals.

• Research from professors Edwin Locke and Gary Latham found that specific and challenging goals led to higher performance 90% of the time compared to easy or "do your best" goals.

• Psychologist Gail Matthews showed that those who wrote down their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not, and shared with a friend accomplished even more again by leveraging positive social pressure.

By applying the SMART framework to your goals, you give yourself a huge leg up on actually making those goals a reality. Let‘s dive deeper into each element of SMART goals and explore some dos, don‘ts, and examples to make this practical.

Specific

The first criteria for a SMART goal is that it must be specific. Far too many goals fail because they are too broad and ambiguous. The more clearly you define your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it.

To make a goal specific, it should address these 5 Ws:

• What do I want to accomplish?
• Why is this goal important?
• Who is involved?
• Where will this take place?
• Which resources or constraints do I have?

For example, instead of a vague goal like "Increase sales", a specific SMART goal would be:

"Increase sales revenue by 20% this fiscal year by launching new software product line, hiring 2 additional sales reps, and increasing marketing budget 10%."

Do:

• Define your goal as precisely as possible
• Use concrete action verb statements
• Answer the 5 W‘s to get specific

Don‘t:

• Use weasel words that lack clarity
• State your goal too broadly
• Omit key details about how you‘ll accomplish it

Measurable

The second SMART criteria is that the goal must contain measurable benchmarks and milestones. You must be able to track and quantify your progress. Otherwise, you have no way of knowing whether you‘re on track and when you‘ve actually achieved the goal.

Some examples of measurable goals:

• Hit $1M in annual revenue by end of 2024
• Acquire 50 new customers per month
• Increase profit margins from 10 to 20%
• Boost email open rates to industry average of 25%
• Improve customer NPS score from 7.5 to 9.0
• Grow social media following by 10,000 this quarter

Whatever your goal, identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) you can use to gauge success. Then define how you will measure them and how often.

Do:

• Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress
• Quantify results to remove ambiguity
• Set target numbers and ratios to strive for

Don‘t:

• Use subjective measures open to interpretation
• State goals without a way to definitively evaluate them
• Measure vanity metrics that don‘t impact end result

Achievable

The third criteria is that SMART goals must be achievable and realistic. This is a tricky balancing act. You want your goals to challenge and inspire you to rise to the occasion. But you also have to work within the reality of your current resources and constraints.

An achievable SMART goal will usually make you feel a tad uncomfortable because it‘s outside your current comfort zone. But it shouldn‘t be so far out there that you have no chance of success. Achievable goals require you to stretch yourself and grow, but are still attainable with focused effort.

Some examples:

• Realistic: I will add $1000 to my emergency fund this year by saving $85/month
• Unrealistic: I will become a millionaire this year while working a minimum wage job
• Realistic: I will learn basic conversational French in 6 months by studying 30 min per day
• Unrealistic: I will become a concert pianist in 6 months having never played before

When setting goals, you want to aim high – but not too high that you destroy your confidence and motivation. Look for the sweet spot that maximizes your effort and growth.

Do:

• Consider your available time, skills, and resources
• Break big "stretch" goals into smaller SMART milestones
• Evaluate what‘s realistic based on past performance

Don‘t:

• Set the bar too low and fail to challenge yourself
• Ignore real-world constraints and set yourself up to fail
• Be overly optimistic without strategic planning

Relevant

The next element of SMART goals is that they must be relevant and aligned with your "Why". There‘s no point setting goals that don‘t connect to your overall priorities and values. You want goals that actually matter and deserve a place on your to-do list.

Ask yourself:

• Is this goal worthwhile?
• Is now the right time to pursue it?
• Does it match my needs?
• Does it align with my overall vision and direction?
• Will achieving this make a positive difference in my life?

Relevant SMART goals ensure you‘re not wasting time and effort pursuing something you don‘t really care about. Sometimes we set goals based on what we think we "should" want, or what looks good to others, rather than what matters most to us.

Some examples:

• Relevant goal for an aspiring author: Write 500 words per day to finish the first draft of my novel this year.
• Irrelevant goal for an aspiring author: Increase my Facebook friends list to over 1000 people this month.
• Relevant goal for a busy parent: Schedule one date night with partner per month to nurture our relationship.
• Irrelevant goal for a busy parent: Qualify for the Boston marathon this year.

Spend your limited time and energy on goals that align with your deepest priorities and values. Don‘t get sidetracked by irrelevant goals, no matter how fun or impressive they may seem on the surface.

Do:

• Connect goals to your overall life vision
• Focus on what matters most to you
• Evaluate whether a goal is truly worth the effort

Don‘t:

• Set goals solely based on the expectations of others
• Prioritize hollow vanity goals over meaningful ones
• Lose sight of your deeper Why and purpose

Time-Bound

The final criteria for SMART goals is that they must be time-bound with clear deadlines. Nothing focuses your mind and motivates action quite like a looming deadline. Without a clear timeframe for completion, your goals will tend to be pushed back indefinitely by the constant urgencies of life.

To make a goal time-bound, you must:

• Establish a hard target date for achieving the final goal
• Set interim milestones and time "check-points" to track progress
• Create a sense of healthy urgency with time constraints

For example:

• Time-bound goal: I will lose 20 lbs in the next 6 months by exercising 5x/week.
  • Milestone 1 – Month 2: Lose first 5 lbs
  • Milestone 2 – Month 4: Lose next 10 lbs
  • Milestone 3 – Month 6: Reach 20 lb weight loss goal
• Non-Time-bound goal: I‘m going to start eating healthy and exercising more to lose weight.

Of course, you want your timelines to be realistic, so don‘t set arbitrary dates and overload yourself. Look at what you‘ve achieved in the past, then build your timeline off that plus a 10% stretch factor. You want your deadline to provide urgency, not stress you out.

Do:

• Set a firm date for achieving your goal
• Establish milestones to gauge progress along the way
• Use timelines to create positive pressure

Don‘t:

• Leave your goal open-ended with no end in sight
• Set unrealistic dates you can‘t possibly hit
• Overwhelm yourself by cramming too much in too fast

Putting SMART Goals Into Practice

Let‘s look at a few more examples from different areas of life to solidify your understanding of SMART goals:

• Vague goal: I want to get in shape.

• SMART goal: I will complete a sprint triathlon within 1 year by training 5 hours per week, hiring a coach, and adopting a whole foods diet.

• Vague goal: We need to provide better customer service.

• SMART goal: We will boost our average customer satisfaction rating from 3.2 to 4.5 (out of 5) this fiscal year by implementing a new ticketing system and agent training program.

• Vague goal: I want to be more productive and organized.

• SMART goal: I will improve my productivity by completing the top 3 MITs (most important tasks) on my priority list each day before checking email, and holding a weekly review every Friday to plan the week ahead.

See how much more powerful the SMART versions are? They provide so much more clarity and direction compared to the originals.

Let‘s say YOU want to set some SMART goals – where do you start? Here are 6 steps to get you going:

1. Start with your big picture vision and priorities. What are your deepest hopes and dreams? What would make the biggest positive difference in your life right now?

2. Break your vision down into medium and short-term SMART goals. Use the 5 elements (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) to craft each one.

3. Put systems and routines in place to build momentum. Don‘t just focus on the end goal, focus on the repeatable daily habits that will get you there.

4. Track and measure your progress along the way. Use hard data to know how you‘re doing and motivate yourself by celebrating small wins.

5. Stay accountable with regular progress check-ins. Find a supportive friend or coach to help you stay on track. Have someone to report to.

6. Adapt as needed based on results. Be consistent while also staying agile. If your current approach isn‘t working, have the courage to adjust your strategy.

If you follow this SMART goal setting process, you‘ll be amazed at how much you can achieve. But you have to put in the work – a goal without consistent action is just a daydream!

To help you implement, I‘ve created a free SMART goal template you can download here (link). Use this worksheet to brainstorm and refine your goals until they meet the SMART criteria.

You have incredible potential inside of you. You are capable of so much more than you tend to believe. Crystallize your ambitions into SMART goals and go after them with unwavering focus. Your future self will thank you!

Dream big, plan smart, take massive action. Here‘s to your success!