Want to change an
aspect of your life? Have a dream you'd like to see come to pass? Goals
accelerate your life's progress toward exceptional. But not all goals are
created equal.
People often talk
about the power of goal setting--and there's a ton of evidence supporting that.
From 8th graders at inner city schools to Harvard Business School graduates,
study after study shows that people who set goals significantly out perform those
who don't.
The people who set
goals aren't smarter or more hard working than those who don't. But something
about setting a goal stimulates us to make more productive choices.
And this is where
many goal setting stories stop--leaving it a mysterious principle. But you need
to know that not all goals are equally helpful. And when you see what makes one
goal better than another, much of the mystery of goal setting goes away.
For starters, goals
need to be written down and shared with others.
Least
helpful--a private goal in your head
Moderately
helpful--a goal spoken verbally (but not written)
More
helpful--a goal written, but not shared
Most
helpful--a goal written and shared with others
Written goals force
you to think with more clarity and make the goal feel more concrete. It has
it's own substance--it's a real thing existing outside of you. Also, you can
(and many do) put that written goal up where you can see it on a regular basis
(bathroom mirror, fridge, computer monitor, etc).
Don't underestimate
the power of reminding yourself of your goal. Patrick Lencioni (bestselling
author, speaker, consultant, etc--check out more on him here), says,
"People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed."
If the goal stays in
your head, you can't be reminded of it unless you're already thinking of
it...kind of ruining the point of being reminded to think about it.
Sharing it with
others also makes it more real. It's easier to walk away from something you've
kept secret. It's easier to say you didn't really want to succeed. This
probably isn't news to you. People who have work out partners skip sessions
less, people who have weekly accountability partners control their behavior
less...you get the idea. This isn't especially insightful--but it works.
However, you can do
all that, using a weak goal, and it won't do much for you. But if you craft a
great goal, you can get great results without the other elements (writing &
sharing). Of course, a well-crafted goal that's written and shared accelerates
your progress the most.
So what makes a goal
well-crafted? The best goals are SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Aggressive
Realistic
Time-Bounded
Here's a common
example of a weak goal: I want to get in shape this year. Great idea, but too
vague. You can do a hundred different things this year and that scattered
effort will produce little results. Let's make it SMART.
Specific: I want to
lose weight. I want to get stronger. I want to have a smaller waistline. Pick
one, but get more specific than "in shape". What exactly is driving
you to make the change?
Measurable: Is
losing .001 pounds enough? How much weight? How much stronger? What waistline
size do you want? Putting a number on it is crucial. For some goals you may
have to get creative here (i.e. measuring the number of times you lose your
temper) but don't skip this. It might be the most important difference between
a weak goal and a powerful goal.
Aggressive: People
are motivated by grand goals. Losing one pound a month is hard to get excited
about. But 10 pounds this month would be a noticeable change. Motivation is key
to goal accomplishment.
Realistic: Because
motivation is so important, you've got to set goals that aren't too far out of
reach. Losing 25 pounds this month isn't realistic (unless you join a special
program), no matter how motivating that might seem at first. It's demoralizing
to fail repeatedly, so set goals you can actually reach.
Time-Bounded: When
will you do? When will you start? When will you finish (and reach your goal)?
What are the milestones along the way?
Using SMART goals
helps you go from "I want to get in shape this year" to "I want
to lose 18 pounds in the next 3 months, six pounds a month." The
well-written goal inspires more and better choices than the vague, weak goal.
Are you pursuing
exceptional? If so, define it. Make the various aspects of your dream life a
written goal--a well-written SMART goal. Then write these goals down, share
them with a few close friends, and post them where you'll see them. You can
always change the goals as you learn more. But starting with something tangible
to pursue will dramatically change the pace of your progress.
In fact, I'd love
for you to share some of your SMART goals for your life here as comments to
encourage each other as we all pursue exceptional lives.
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