How to Write SMART Goals
We recently talked about the importance of writing your goals down because people who write their goals down are much more likely to achieve them. We learned that writing goals down will help you to be Happy, Healthy and Prosperous! We also discovered that the Bible has several references about the importance of having goals and vision and writing them down. Today I’d like to share HOW to write goals or better yet, how to write SMART goals.
Make them with a positive tone
First, when writing SMART goals, it’s important to keep in mind that you need to write out your goals in the form of a positive statement. In other words, write what you want, NOT what you don’t want. For example, if you have a goal to pay all of your bills on time, use positive wording instead of negative wording:
Negative: I don’t want to be late on any of my bills next month.
Positive: I want to pay all of my bills on time next month.
Do you see the difference? It’s the exact same goal, just said in a different way. Your mind tends to lean or focus toward what you think or say. In this case, “Late on my bills” will stand out instead of “pay bills on time”.
It’s kind of like advice parents are given when correcting children. I remember hearing or reading somewhere not to tell a child “Don’t spill your milk” because the brain then unconsciously focuses on “spill your milk”. Guess what, quite often…they spill their milk! On the contrary, if you were to say “Be careful with your milk—be sure it stays in your cup”, they are focused on the positive instead of the negative. It’s almost like a magnet pulling an object toward itself. We are like magnets that will pull what we focus on toward us.
This honestly is just a good life skill anyway! Focus on the positive, not the negative. It’s also scriptural:
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Philippians 4:8 (NLT)
Make SMART Goals
The next step to writing SMART Goals is to make them “SMART”! Forbes actually includes writing SMART goals as one of the 12 Things All Successful People Do (see #2). SMART is actually an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-Sensitive. To break it down for you even further:
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Make them Specific
- Try not to be vague. Use detail when possible. (i.e. instead of “I want to play a musical instrument” say “I want to learn to play the piano”)
- Specific goals answer the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, Why & Which?
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Make them Measurable
- Make sure you can track your progress. You can evaluate your progress if you have something by which to measure or by including an amount of some sort. (i.e. instead of “I want to pay down my debt” say “I want to pay off at least $3000 of my debt”)
- Measurable goals answer the questions: How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
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Make them Achievable
- Make sure they are “doable”, not out of reach or extreme. (i.e. instead of “I want to lose 30 pounds in one week” say “I want to lose 30 pounds within the next 4 months”)
- Achievable goals answer the question: What is attainable for me or is it within my reach?
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Make them Realistic/Relevant
- Make sure you have the resources, knowledge, ability, and skills and be willing to achieve them. (instead of “I will win American Idol” if you have absolutely no singing ability, say “I will become an award-winning speaker”)
- Realistic goals answer the questions: What is within my capability/skills/drive? Is this possible for me based on my assets? Does this suit my gifts and talents?
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Make them Time-Sensitive
- Set deadlines and time frames. (i.e. instead of “I want to be able to run a 5k” say “I want to be able to run a 5k by October 2022”)
- Time-sensitive goals answer the question: When? By When?
Write SMART goals for several areas of life
It’s important to set and write goals for several areas of your life: Education/Learning, Career/Job, Spiritual, Relationships/Marriage, Family, Friendships, Community/Volunteering, Financial, Health/Fitness, Self-Esteem/Self-Image, Lifestyle, Time/Personal Organization, etc. It’s not imperative that you focus on ALL of these areas and goals at the same time. In fact, a good rule of thumb is to work on no more than 3 focus goals at any given time.
Take Some Practical Steps to Writing SMART Goals:
Take out a sheet of paper or follow the steps below on your computer, tablet (the Bible actually mentions this method—see verse below!) or phone–just write these down somewhere.
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First, think of 3 goals that you are excited about beginning. It can be in any area (Education/Learning, Career/Job, Spiritual, Relationships/Marriage, Family, Friendships, Community/Volunteering, Financial, Health/Fitness, Self-Esteem/Self-Image, Lifestyle, Time/Personal Organization, etc.).
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Then, write the goals down—Be sure to make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic/Relevant and Time-Sensitive). Keep these questions in mind:
- Who, What, Where, Why & Which?
- How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?
- What is attainable for me or is within my reach?
- What is within my capability/skills/drive? Is this possible for me based on my assets? Does this suit my gifts and talents?
- When? By When?
“And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, [who knew the bible would predict iPads!! 🙂 ] so he may run who reads it.” Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
Now that you know how to write SMART goals, you can take it a few steps further by learning some additional things that you can do in order to help you actually achieve those goals!
Tell us one or more of your SMART goals! Share one with us by leaving a comment below.
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*Update: Originally posted 4/7/2015
