Why you should set SMART goals 

If you take time to reflect on your dreams and visions, the goals you set will focus on what is important to you.  

Goal setting is important, and setting SMART goals is even more important to put in order the trajectory of your life.    

What is goal setting? According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, goal setting is the process of deciding what you want to achieve or what you want someone else to achieve over a particular period.  

How you set your goal(s) depends on if it’s short-term or long-term.  

Short-term goals are the goals that you want to accomplish in a short time which could be within a year. While long-term goals are goals that you want to accomplish much later in the future.   

According to Les Brown, “Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.” Therefore, it is safe to say that goal setting involves putting what is possible in your life in perspective. Also, Tony Robbins once said, “Goal setting can look different depending on an individual’s lifestyle, values and definition of success. Your goals are unique to you and don’t need to look like anyone else’s.”  

He further explained that “The classic goal-setting definition boils down to the process of identifying something you want to accomplish and establishing measurable objectives and timeframes to help you achieve it.”  

Importance of setting SMART goals 

1. Gives you a sense of direction  

Gives you something to look forward to or aim at. Imagine starting a journey and having no idea where you are headed. Time will be lost. Energy will be lost and you may have gone too far before you realize that there is nothing in it for you.  

2. Helps you to avoid distractions and align your focus  

With your SMART goals, your eyes are on the ball. Your focus is in alignment with the goals you are looking to achieve. Of what use is a journey you are embarking on without having your eyes on the road? Just imagine being in a vehicle and your eyes and mind are everywhere, but on the route that the driver is taking you through. There’d be the tendency for you to go missing and literally miss out on the point of the whole journey.  

3. Clear decision making  

There’s clarity in your decision-making process. You know what steps to take and what steps to avoid. You have an idea of what decision to stick to and how to do away with the ones that don’t align with your goals. This does not in any way imply that you will have everything all figured out because you have goals. It just gives you a clearer perspective on things.   

4. Source of motivation  

It gives you hope when you don’t feel like showing up. It also gives you something to look up to. You know those moments when you feel stuck and weary. Those moments when giving up appears to be the only option that’s appealing to you. Your SMART goals when written down, give you reasons to keep at it.  

5. It helps you measure progress  

Where you’re coming from, where you are, and how much longer it will take to get to where you are going. There is a tendency for the human mind to forget how much progress an individual has made over time. But with your goals in view, you can measure how far you’ve come and how much more ground needs to be covered.  

6. Your SMART goals help you keep procrastination in check  

Putting a time to your tasks or goals that have been set helps you keep procrastination in check because there is a time frame allotted to your goals.   

7. You achieve more  

An achievement pushes you to want to do more. Then you keep going on and on because you begin to love the aura and feeling that comes with setting goals and achieving them.  

8. It inspires you to see beyond now and helps you focus on what’s next  

In other words, it helps you see beyond your immediate environment and the comfort you’re used to. You get to look way ahead into the future, and it keeps you open-minded.  

9. You move with speed  

When you write down your goals, you move faster than when you don’t. You cannot go wrong with writing them down. Writing them down enable you run with them. A man without his goals written down is likely to make slower moves than someone who has his goals written down; SMART goals.  

What are SMART goals? 

Putting into consideration the definition above, SMART goals are the roadmaps that guide you and put your life in perspective.   

These goals must possess these qualities: they must be   

S –Specific,  

M – Measurable,   

A – Achievable,   

R – Realistic and Relevant,   

T – Time-bound/Timely.  

SMART goals help you get optimized results. Let’s take a look at these characteristics one after the other. Corporate Finance Institute has explained the term in simple terms:   

1. Specific  

This means that your goals have a focus, they are understandable and clear. Here, the goal is concerned with Who is involved in the goal. “What you want to accomplish. Where is the goal meant to be achieved? When do you want to achieve your goal? Why do you want to achieve the goal”  

2. Measurable  

It means that your goals can be quantified, that is, there’s a yardstick for your goals. Your SMART goals must answer the following questions. How many/ how much? How do I know if I have reached my goal? What’s the indicator of my progress?  

3. Achievable  

Your goal should be attainable and have what it takes to put things in perspective. They direct your focus and answer these questions:  

“Have others done it and succeeded at it before?”  

“Do I have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what have I not paid attention to?”  

4. Realistic  

A SMART goal must be realistic such that the goal can be achieved given the available resources and time allotted to its speculated accomplishments.   

A SMART goal is likely realistic if it is obvious that it can be accomplished. This requires logical and objective reasoning. Ask yourself: “Is the goal realistic and within reach? Is the goal reachable, given the time and resources? Are you able to commit to achieving the goal?   

5. Time-bound or Timely  

A SMART goal should have a start and a target/end date. It will give you a sense of urgency and motivation to achieve the goal. To achieve these, you can put the following in perspective:  

1. Your goal must have a deadline  
2. You should have an idea of when you want to achieve your goal.   

However, with all of these mentioned, there is no guarantee that things will go on without challenges. Regardless, the beautiful thing is that they will keep you on your toes and give you something to look forward to.   

See this quote from Susan Polis Schultz; “If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy, that requires a lot of work, that incurs a great deal of interest and that’s a challenge to you, you will always look forward to waking up to see what the new day brings.”  

Conclusively, don’t be like a clueless traveler, have SMART goals and run with them.