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Creating SMART Goals
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Getting Started
SMART Goals
It's easy to be frustrated setting goals - because we usually set unrealistic, exaggerated goal that end up not lasting more than a week.
Goals that meet the SMART criteria have the highest chance of being successful.
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S - Specific Goals
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic and Relevant
T = Timebound
Defining your SMART Goal
S - Specific Goals
Set up Specific Goals
The goal has to be clear and defined. Goals show the way. If it’s vague or general, it won’t be very helpful in providing direction. It’s easier to get where you want to go if the end is precisely defined.
- Vague goals:
o “Stay open” “eat better”, “be more active”.
o “Get my blood sugar under better control”.
o “Cut out sweets”.
- Specific goals:
o Eat 3 meals a day.
o Eat 2 vegetables a day at least 5 days a week.
o Walk in place during at least 3 commercials 5 days a week.
o Walk around the block 2 days this week
o Have my A1c at 8.5%.
o Eat sweets once a day – 2 cookies – per day.
M = Measurable
M = Measurable
This means the goal can be measured so a person can tell if they’ve been successful. It has precise information about how much, when.
- Vague: to reduce expenses.
- Specific: reduce expenses by 1% in 1 month.
A = Attainable
A = Attainable Goals
- Goals should be achievable.
- Make sure that it's possible to achieve the goals set.
- If there is no hope of achieving a goal, a person feels demoralized and confidence is eroded.
- Goals should not be too easy either.
- If the goal is too easy, there isn’t a feeling of accomplishment when it’s reached.
- It can also increase the fear of setting goals in the future that carry a risk of non-achievement.
- Finding the balance:
- By setting realistic yet challenging goals, you hit the balance you need.
- This type of goal will ‘raise the bar" and create a challenge.
- There will be a great sense of personal satisfaction when it's achieved.
R = Realistic and Relevant
R =
- Relevant
- Goals should be relevant to the direction you want your life and career to take.
- Goals that match what you want in life help you focus on what needs to be done to get what you want.
- If your goals are scattered and not consistent with your life’s direction and values, you'll fritter your time – and your life – away.
- Realistic
- The root word of realistic is “real.”
- A goal has to be something that you can reasonably make “real” or a “reality” in your life.
- There are some goals that are simply not realistic.
- A person has to be able to say that it’s entirely realistic—that they could make it, even if it is a tremendously stretching goal.
- Sometimes a ‘big goal’ needs to be broken down into smaller steps and goals to be achieved.
T = Timebound
Time Bound - that means have a deadline!
For a goal to work, it has to have a deadline.
A deadline tells you 2 things:
- when it’s done AND
- it lets a person know when it’s time to celebrate success.
- Having a deadline helps create a sense of urgency.
- For some, having a sense of urgency increases the motivation and helps them move forward quicker.
Defining your SMART Goal
What is your first priority - something you want to work on and make happen in your life?
- Write it down - or say it outloud.
Is it specific?
Is it measurable?
Is it possible for you to do it?
Is it realistic and relevant to you? Does it matter to you to meet this goal?
Does it have a time with it, when you'd like to meet the goal?
Examples - some of these goals are more long term, e.g. 3 months. Others are shorter - for next week.
I will eat healthy, vegetables 2 times a day and fruit 2 times a day and limit my carbohydrates to 3 (15 gram) servings a day, in 90 days from November 11 (by February 11, 2020).
I will improve my self-care by December 11. I will do daily cares every day by Dec 1. That includes brushing my teeth once a day, combing my hair 5 of 7 days a week, taking a shower at least 2 times a week, and wearing daytime clothes 5 out of 7 days of the week.
I will call to make an appointment with my psychiatrist this week, by Friday.
I will keep my appointment with my doctors and therapist for the next 30 days.
I will take my medications in the morning, on time, for 5 of the 7 days next week, starting Monday.
NEXT STEP - Create your Action Plan for your goal.
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