What Are Your Goals?

Everyone has goals in some form or another. Some people have a goal to go back and get their degree, or lose weight, or have a financial goal they're working to attain. Whatever your goals are, it is important to evaluate them and make sure you have set SMART goals. Arina, from the Goal Setting Guide, tells us that following the SMART model will help us set realistic, attainable goals to help us feel good about ourselves.

First, we need to make sure our goals are Specific. They should be straightforward and clearly articulate about what you want to do. Specific goals will help you answer the questions like who, what, why, where, when, and how. The next step is making sure they are measurable. How will you know you reached your goal? This is done best by marking your accomplishments with something you can see in terms of increments. If your goal is to lose weight, create mile markers for yourself. "I want to lose 10 pounds by the 30th of every month until my birthday" is specific and will make it easy to stay on track. Identifying goals that are attainable will help you commit to them. The more you focus on an attainable goal, the more you will develop the attitude, skills, and financial capacity to reach it. This will prevent you from getting burned out and instead bring the feeling of success to set new goals. Next, setting realistic goals does not mean easy goals. It means they should be realistic for you and where you are in your life. They should only stretch you slightly. Gradually working your way to something rather than trying it all at one time is an example. Lastly, setting a Timeframe for yourself gives you something to work toward. This will help give you a sense of urgency and keep you focused on what you want to happen by that end date.

When setting goals for yourself, you can't go wrong with the SMART model. Soon, you'll be able to see ways to apply it to other areas of your life and you will feel successful!