How to Set SMART Goals for the New Year

One of the best ways to move toward goal-setting success in the New Year is to ensure that each of your New Year's resolutions fits the SMART formula. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. When you turn your New Year’s Resolutions into goals that have these characteristics, you are much likelier to achieve them.

Goal Setting Success

Let’s face it: setting short term, medium-term, and long term goals for yourself can be a major factor in creating success in your life. And if there are things that you want to achieve or ways that you want to grow, setting incremental goals as stepping stones is an important part of getting there.

Follow this strategy to turn your New Year’s Resolutions into SMART goals:

Make Your Goals Specific. This means that your goal should be numbers based, or have a specific goal in mind. A smart goal may be "Go from 165 pounds to 155 pounds," or "Touch my toes without bending my knees." Both are specific goals without any vague phrasing left open to interpretation.

The more specific your goals are, the clearer it will be when you finally achieve them.

 Break your large goals into smaller short-term and medium-term goals, with each smaller goal phrased just as specifically in order for them to be attainable and achievable.

Make Your Goals Measurable. This is another reason why smart goals are numbers based. To know whether or not you achieved a goal, you must be able to measure your progress. SMART goals are goals that you can track and measure that have a clear end or point of attainment.

Being able to measure your progress is really important in goal setting and goal achievement. It helps you determine whether or not you're moving in the right direction, since you can clearly track and measure both positive and negative progress along the way.

Make Your Goals Attainable. Smart goals are goals that you can actually attain. They're not extremely farfetched goals like "Lose 100 pounds in 90 days," because if there's no way to achieve the goal, why set it? SMART goals are goals that you're physically and mentally capable of achieving.

Make Your Goals Relevant. SMART goals are relevant to your life.  If they don’t make any difference or only a little then why set them?  Your SMART goals should have meaning and importance to you - your attaining of your goal should be an accomplishment that means something to you.  

For that reason, ask yourself: why do I want to achieve this goal?  What will reaching this goal give me and those I serve.

Make Your Goals Time-Bound. SMART goals have time frames, and realistic ones at that. When you put a realistic time frame on your goal, it gives you something to work for. To simply "Lose 10 pounds," without a time frame lacks motivation. "Lose 10 pounds by my birthday" has a realistic time frame that gives you something to work for and a date for completion. 

Bottom Line

Setting SMART goals is the best way to set and achieve goals for what you want in life. By setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound, you can, with the right motivation and strategy, achieve the success you deserve!

Joe Mitchell, is a High Performance Coach, who has logged over 35 years of in-depth study of personal and spiritual development. In his studies, he has done hundreds of self development courses, spiritual retreats and health related workshops. Coach Joe is a certified yoga teacher, meditation teacher, EFT Practitioner, NLP Practitioner and a graduate of three coaching academies. He was also a member of a religious order for 5 years. In 2016, after a 20 year career as a criminal and personal injury attorney, he decided to turn his heart's passion into a career as a Success Coach, Motivational Speaker and Trainer. For information on Coach Joe’s programs, high performance videos and to apply for a Free High Performance Session click the following link http://www.activateyourgreatness.com/free-session