Making 2004 the most successful year ever is a lofty resolution, albeit nebulous.   Each New Year the vast majority of us makes commitments to ourselves (and others) that we will perform any number of goals important to our future success and happiness.  The reality is, however, too many of us do not put a lot of forethought and planning into the goals nor do we outline the steps that will help us achieve them.

There is a method of goal setting that has won wide acceptance because of its efficacy when followed … one that will prompt many of us to say, “I’ve heard of that”.  That statement would most likely also be followed by, “I’ve never tried it, though”.  That method is S.M.A.R.T. goals.  For those of you who have heard of it and used it, this will hopefully be a good, little refresher.  For those of you who haven’t heard of this method, you will hopefully gain some useful information that will make achievement of your resolutions for the year more probable.

To better insure success with reaching goals, they need to be S.M.A.R.T.  In the most universally-accepted interpretation of this acronym, goals we set should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-Sensitive.  As time passes, this acronym gets tweaked here and there to meet the needs of whatever organization is implementing it.  For instance:  S = Simple, Sensible, Significant; M = Meaningful, Motivating; A = Acceptable, Action-oriented, Accountable, Achievable; R = Relevant, Reasonable, Results-oriented, Reviewable; T = Tangible, Timed, Time-driven, Truthful.  There are also users of this method who have taken it one step further and described them as “S.M.A.R.T.E.R.” goals, adding “Efficacy” and “Rewarding” to the mix.

The one aspect of goal setting (whether they be SMART or not) that is universally accepted is that they must be written down.  History and research shows that those who actually commit their goals to paper (along with a plan to back them up) are the most likely to achieve them.  Henry David Thoreau said, “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be.  Now put the foundations under them”.   Putting your goals in writing is the bedrock of your foundation.

So, back to our acronym….

In order to be Specific, you should ask the questions who, what, where, when, why, and which?!  There should be no room for indecision regarding what this goal is about.  Form the goal statement in a very positive manner.  Measurable means that you can actually track your progress towards your goal as you complete the specific criteria set up in the prior step.   In order to be Attainable or Acceptable, the person who “owns” the goal(s) should determine what the goal is, using his or her knowledge of personal strengths, skills, and opportunities.  The Realistic part of this goal-setting process depends a lot on your mental attitude.  Believing you can achieve it contributes to the realistic aspect of the goal, and how much you bite off at any one time can affect what you believe.  It’s okay to set high goals that challenge and motivate you.  In fact, setting higher goals is usually innately more motivating.  If you set these more lofty goals, be sure not to sabotage your success by setting too many of them.  Better to be successful at a couple of goals that really stretch you and have lots of personal satisfaction attached to them than to set several goals that overwhelm you and never get achieved.  Time-sensitive, simply stated, means when this goal is to be accomplished.  If the timeframe is lengthy, then consider breaking up the goal into smaller segments which each have  separate timetables so you can feel successful all along the way.

To wind this up, keep in mind that, “A knowledge of the path cannot be substituted for putting one foot in front of the other” (M.C. Richards).  The most beautifully composed S.M.A.R.T. goals will never be achieved until you take that first SMART step

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