Do You Have S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal" (Elbert Hubbard - American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher)

How serious are you about your goals and resolutions? Are they worthy of your efforts?

Not many follow through, or even start at all. Why?Because they set goals in such a way that it wouldn't matter whether they're accomplished or not. For example, here are 2 common resolutions people make every year - to make more money and to lose weight.

Sounds like a plan right? But without going too deep, let's just ask some simple questions.

To Make More Money - What do you mean by "more money?" If you bought something for $1 and sold it for $1.50, would you consider having accomplished this goal?

To Lose Weight - Let's say you were trying to get 2 or 3 more gifts before the stores closed for the holidays, and that because the items you were looking for were at a low supply because of the strong demand for them, you had to criss-cross several stores for an hour just to find them. Sweating, you finally get home with those gifts, and before jumping into the shower, you weigh yourself.

Lo and behold, you've lost half-a-pound, or maybe even a whole pound! Would you consider yourself to have achieved this resolution of losing weight? What if you were 50 pounds overweight? Then you'll simply be 49.5 or 49 pounds overweight. So, have you really lost weight according to your resolution, or not?

See? Goals that are vague and ephemeral don't merit your consideration at all. And if they're not that important to you, they're not going to be acted upon.

Here's a simple and easy way to set goals that are challenging and specific enough to merit your serious attention and commitment.

When you set goals and resolutions, think S.M.A.R.T.! And that stands for,

Specific - This is when you clearly define your goals. It's easier to hit a clear target than a hazy one. Instead of "Making more money," you could say, "I'd like to make an extra $500 per month."

Measurable - This is the criteria that will enable you to track the progress you're making. Your $500 extra per month goal will help you see how you're doing with this objective. You might be making an extra $50, $100, or $400 per month, and while that's good and better than nothing, you at least know how near or far you are from your target.

Achievable - While goals shouldn't be too easy that they bore us, yet they should be challenging enough to engage us. If an extra $500 a month seems out of reach to you, then you could adjust it to something that you can attain within a period of time you've have set for yourself. You could go for making an extra $250 per month, but probably not an extra $1 per month (not challenging enough, even for kindergarten kids!).

Realistic - I know we should aim high in a way that our goals will stretch us and bring out our hidden potential. However, in aiming high, we should be realistic. It would be so easy to be swayed by the hype online and start fantasizing, "I'm going to make an extra million per month!" While that may be a realistic goal for some, it may not be for you. You may need to start somewhere in the vicinity of $500 before going aiming for $1,000,000. Before you can run, you need to learn how to walk first.

Timed - Project a time frame that lays out for you when you will start and when you expect to achieve your goals. When will you start making the extra $500 per month? It can't be "I'll make an extra $500 someday." Don't let "someday" pick the day for you, because "Someday" never comes!

There you have it! This 2008, have a great start -- live S.M.A.R.T.!

Cheers!
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