6 Tips to Be S.M.A.R.T

Most people want to see some kind of change or improvement in their lives from time to time. Setting goals is an effective way to increase motivation and to help you to create the changes you want. It can be used to improve health and relationships, or improve productivity at work.

Why set Goals?

Goal setting can be really difficult to master if you're not sure how to start. You can feel as if you're just stuck in a rut not knowing which way is up. A lot of people fail to set the correct goals purely based on the fact that their goals are too far away. A 10 year old has a dream of becoming an astronaut, a professional athlete or a singer for example. However, their dream has to wait years before even being considered for that professions. In that time the mindset can change because you are not seeing the results straight away. This is why minor goal setting is so important!!

When you feel like you need that little push that little bit of help to get you through to the next step. Once you've decided your goals, the SMART theory of goal setting might help you to achieve them. The theory is based on years of academic research and became popular in the 1980s. Below are the five criteria of SMART goals that should give you the best chance of success.

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S.M.A.R.T

• Specific. Be clear about what you are aiming for — your goals should include specifics such as ‘who, where, when, why and what’. For example, rather than ‘do more exercise’, your goal could be to ‘walk for 30 minutes five days a week’.

• Measurable. Set goals that you can measure. Your goals should include a quantity of ‘how much’ or ‘how many’: for example drinking 2 litres of water per day.

• Achievable. Set goals that you are able to do. Setting a harder goal might lead to a better outcome, but only as long as you can achieve it. Goals that are too difficult can be discouraging and could lead to you giving up.

• Realistic. Set goals that are practical for you and your circumstances. Walking an hour a day might be difficult if you don’t get home from work until 8pm every day.

• Time-related. Set a timeframe and have an endpoint. Deadlines can motivate your efforts and prioritise the task above other distractions.
  

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible" - Tony Robbins

The key is to understand how exactly SMART goals can help you achieve those massive dreams. In order to actually feel like you are going in the right direction you need to get the appropriate feedback and need to feel like you are doing the right things. I want to give you some tips to help guide you towards those aspirations.

Tips for Goal Setting

1. Identify Your Passion. Goals and dreams are built for passion. They only work with self motivated objectives. So find your passion and you will find yourself motivated by doing what you love to do.

2. Break Down The Skills. Identify the skills associated with your passion. Skills are there to be taught so that anyone can learn them. As we go through life we develop our skills through practise and time. For example, we start off not being able to read and write. We head off to school to be taught these skills and through time we learn them so that they become second nature. Identify the skills needed for your passion.

3. Identify Skills At The Base Level. Break down the skills to their most basic component. When we think about reading as a focus. We are taught to look at the smaller words, we look at the words that are most common. We teach base sounds and then build up word formations, then adding more words creating sentences reading paragraphs etc. Base level skills as there to be learnt and built upon. once you have the base level skills you will find yourself better equipped to deal with harder skills.

4. Set SMART Goals To Achieve Base Skills. By doing steps 1,2 and 3 you've already made your goals SMART. They should be Specific because you identified them from your passion. All of which are Relevant for your outcome. They are Attainable because you've broken them down to their base level. Now you need to monitor your progress by Measuring your achievement. Measurable goals means that you identify exactly what it is you will see, hear and feel when you reach your goal. Set yourself Timely reminders so then you don't put it off. We fall into the habit of making our time too long or too short. Find the time that suits and forces you to do your work but at the same time doesn't run you into the ground.

5. Find Positive Feedback. We need feedback! We thrive on it, we need to know what we're doing is getting somewhere. Give yourself the positive feedback you deserve. Once you completed a task reward yourself with a treat, chocolate, screen time, games whatever it is that helps you feel good about yourself. Receiving regular feedback is so important, as it allows you to know when you are moving in the right direction, and change tactics if necessary. Seek that appropriate feedback that helps improve your motivation.

6. Set SMART Goals For Further Skills. Repeat the process again!! As soon as you feel that you have mastered your goal setting you need to keep going. Maintain that control over your life and apply yourself to the right skills.

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Your Turn

Have a go at these 6 tips. They've helped me through a lot of my goals and I'm already starting to see the improvement. Not only in myself but, my life has turned around and it's starting to become what I envisioned it to be.

Let me know what you think leave a comment below.