Goal setting is a valuable part of life; it’s how we develop on a personal and societal level. SMART goals allow us to pursue each objective with clear motivations, timeframes, and structure. The following components define them:
While all these components are significant, viable goals will always get you from Point A to Point B. Therefore, let’s focus on how to make them Attainable:
- Zero in on your core values. Sit back and reflect. What is your “why?” Without a significant reason, you will quickly lose steam. Attaching meaning to your goals will make them brighter and stronger in your mind. As a result, you can effectively outline your vision and prevent self-sabotaging behavior.
When creating attainable goals, it can be essential to organize your values into categories such as
family, career, self, and
community, then consider the following questions:
- What energizes me?
- What am I missing?
- What can I improve upon?
- What can I omit or decrease?
Pinpointing your values will rev the engine of your goal-setting process. It will help you sort your priorities and spotlight behaviors connected to a purpose.
- Design a goal “blueprint.” After you assess your values, initiate an action plan. The following prompt can be beneficial in building a transparent goal:
- “I want to ___ so that I can ___.”
EXAMPLE: “I want to bike three days per week for 30 minutes to be more fit to keep up with my kids.”
Organize your goal into small, specific steps and create a reasonable schedule. Reflecting on your “how” can ignite the spark that jumpstarts behavior change. Consider the following questions:
- What are you going to do and when?
- What resources do you require?
- How and when will you check on your progress?
- What is your reward system for achieving your goal?
If you encounter obstacles, reevaluate the plan and consider an alternate route. Barriers are fundamental and challenging aspects of life, but a backup plan (or two) can foil them.
- Be true to your limitations. What is the level of difficulty here? When creating an attainable goal, it is essential to have self-awareness. It’s constructive to seek a challenge, but not to the point where it’s causing extreme stress or frustration. If a goal does not apply to your life, it will likely be abandoned quickly. For example:
Situation: You work 12-hour days, and your kids have multiple sports events per week.
- Impossible: Exercise five days a week for one hour at the gym.
Consider what you can do in the early stages of goal setting. If you believe your goal is impossible to achieve, this is an excellent opportunity to amend your plan:
- Attainable: Exercise at home two days per week for 20 minutes.
Adjust, and continue adjusting. Tap into your creative side and execute your plan with unconventional approaches. Adding a layer of resilience will make limitations appear less daunting.
- Set a new precedent for success. In other words, don’t dwell on past failures; keep the word “failure” out of your vocabulary. Instead, focus on the small wins and continue the journey. You may not have achieved your ideal goal, but you more than likely achieved something. Use your experience as a learning tool to understand yourself more clearly.
Whether you’re establishing a goal for your health or your career, paving an attainable and value-driven path will offer a fair advantage for success. Focus on the correct approach for
you, and results will follow.
By, Coach Kaleigh