So What Is a Good Goal for You?

When I worked as a Mental Health Counselor in the Department of Corrections I taught a Life Skills Class. One of the lessons was on goal setting. But that was more than ten years ago and I couldn't recall all of the lesson. So I had Bing searching for me and found this:  https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.php. It uses the same acronym I used and reminded me how to explain what a good goal would look like.

The acronym is SMART.

A SMART goal has five features:

It is specific [S]. For instance, if you want a better job you describe the specifics of what a better job is for you. You may want a job that has regular hours, has health benefits, pays a certain amount, and is working with people or things or nature, etc. So describe what a better job means for you, specifically.

It is Measurable [M]. There is a way to measure the goal so that you can identify when it is accomplished. You may have a time limit for reaching the goal. Or you might have a specific way to know it is accomplished, like "before I am X number of years old" or "before I get married", etc.
Goals that are vague "someday" goals do not keep you focused on them.

It is Attainable [A]. Your goal must be possible for you. I might want to be a millionare by the end of next year, but that isn't possible for me at my age and experience! And you want your goals to be in agreement with the rest of your life. If you want to have more time with your family and at the same time you want to get a job that has you travelling often, this could create a problem.

It is Realistic [R]. Be realistic AND optimistic. Be careful to not underestimate yourself. But also set goals that you know you can reach. Be reasonable and rewarding so that you can maintain motivation to acheve it.

It is Time-based [T]. Set reasonable time limits on the goal. One way to do that is to determine objectives that get you to your goal For instance "I will create a resume by the end of next week." and "I will research the job market for the kind of job I want by the end of the month and schedule an information interview with potential companies next month.

It is very helpful with long-term goals to break them down to bite-sized objectives. It is also important to be sure that those objectives do not create a time-crunch with your other goals and objectives.

You may want to write out a timeline of your goals and objectives to be sure you don't over-schedule your time. Running into time crunch is one way we sabatoge our goals.

Check out the wibsite noted above and download SMARTER Goals Template.