"With The 5-Step SMART Goal Setting Template, You'll Discover Powerful Goal Setting Tools To Help You Stride Your Way To Fulfilment & Lasting SUCCESS"



     Without doubt, the sure-fire way to guarantee success in your life is to set yourself goals and with the right goal setting tools. Always make your goal setting SMART as that way, you know exactly what it is you want to achieve, when and why. Without using SMART goals, trying to achieve anything of significance is always a much harder task and often ends in disapointment and/or failure.

Why?

     Because when you use SMART goals, you get true perspective on what you are intending to achieve - they help you to better focus and get clear on where you are headed. Without knowing clearly where you are headed, you are like a boat without a rudder and a traveller without a map.

Map and compass for journey

"It is essential you know where you are going before you depart on the journey of achievement"

So What Is Goal Setting & What Makes A Goal A SMART Goal?

     Simply put, when you are goal setting you are outlining an objective or set of objectives you want to meet or accomplish at some time in the future. If you like, you can think of goal setting as focussing on a destination you are travelling to, or a target you are aiming for.

     And what makes your goal setting SMART, is ensuring the goals set have certain inherent characteristics or properties. Those charactersitics are revealed when you realise the term SMART is actually an acronym for;
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Relevant
  • Timed
      The SMART goal setting tools theory itself was devised in 1981 by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham, who were looking at ways of improving performance management techniques. The theory appeared in the November edition of Management Review (vol. 70, issue 11), in an article titled "There's a SMART way to write management's goals and objectives."

Ok - to help you better understand this theory, let's take a quick look at some examples of smart goals in action. 

      John has set himself a rather general and fluffy goal of "making his life better". In order to make that goal significantly more focussed, what John needs to do now is make it SMARTer.

By applying the SMART goal setting template we find;

  • Specific - exactly what aspect(s) is it of John's life he wants to improve? Finances
  • Measurable - how will John be able to measure his goal? He wants to see $1000 saved in his bank account
  • Achievable - is this an achievable or realistic figure? Yes, most certainly because he earns a good salary, but is just prone to wasting money
  • Relevant - does John's goal relate to anything important in his life? Yes, he wants to have a long weekend away in the country
  • Timed - when does John want to go away? In 2 months time
                  
     Can you see now how much more structured and therefore effective SMART goals are when compared to general goals? It is this degree of detail that makes you focus totally on what you want and why.

Essential Things To Do Once You've Set Your SMART Goals


Essential action #1

     To get the ball rolling you need to take the goals out of your head and physically record them somewhere. The process of transfering them from the world of thought into actual tangible words births them in physical reality. And rather than writing them on paper, as writing on paper generally results in the paper being lost, look at using a set of proper goal setting tools to help you manage your goal setting properly.

     If such tools currently an option for you, then I suggest you buy yourself a special hard-backed notepad that will be solely dedicated to your goals. Your goals are important and so where you store them should be important too. Make sure you write them in your best hand-writing to reinforce that importance.

Essential action #2

     To boost your chances of success, create positive affirmations for your SMART goals and follow the techniques previously described in that section

Essential action #3

     Use the technique of creative visualization to vividly imagine you have already achieved your goals. Again, follow the methods previously described in that section

     Follow this goal setting template every time you use SMART goals and you'll be amazed at how rapidly your life progresses. With the right goal setting tools you'll significantly enhance your rate of success as you begin to hit target after target after target!