S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

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S is for specific; M is for measurable; A is for attainable; R is for realistic; and T is for Time-bound.

A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six "W" questions: Who is involved? What do I want to accomplish? Where will I set it? When will it be? Identify requirements and constraints. Have specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal. For instance, a general goal would be, "To lose weight." But it is more specific to say, "Hit the gym and workout 4 days a week."

To be measurable establishes concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal. To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as “How much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

To be attainable is when you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.

To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress. A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

Your goal is probably realistic if you truly that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Time-bound should be grounded within a time period. With no time period tied to it there's no sense of importance and motivation. If you want to lose weight, when do you want to lose it by? "If only" won't work. However, if you put it within a time period, then you've set your subconscious mind into action to begin working on the goal.