Set Goals

It’s that time of year. The time when we are evaluating what we accomplished this past year and what we are going to do differently next year. Most people start setting New Years resolutions.  I don’t resolve (a firm decision to do or not to do something) to change I embrace (accept and support willingly and enthusiastically) it and I encourage you to do this too! We can always better ourselves and so many of us push ourselves hard all year just to realize in December that nothing was accomplished. That’s because they didn’t set goals the SMART way!

SMART was coined by George Doran in the USA for a company he was assisting, and published in 1981 (Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write managements’ goals and objectives. Management Review, November 70(11) 35-36). The original five were: specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time related.

What does all this mean? It means when you set out to pick your goals for 2018 it’s great to keep SMART in mind. The ‘S’ stands for Specific. Make your goals specific to you and well defined. The ‘M’ stands for Measurable. Your goals should be measurable so that you know if you have achieved it. Making a goal of “I want to be happier by the end of 2018.” Is a great goal but how will you measure it? Try to ensure your goals are attainable. Is your goal of losing 12 pounds in 2 weeks for your cousins wedding achievable and realistic? Are your goals Relevant? If you set goals you really don’t care about or are not truly relevant in your life it’s not as likely you will achieve them. Goals should be time-sensitive. They should have a date by which you would like to achieve them. If you set goals with out this they could be sitting on your procrastination list forever! 

I find there is one more factor for me.  There needs to be intention behind the goal. 

“Before you agree to do anything that might add even the smallest amount of stress to your life, ask yourself: What is my truest intention? Give yourself time to let a yes resound within you. When it’s right, I guarantee that your entire body will feel it.” -Oprah Winfrey

Decide what you want your life or just the next year to be like. Know who you want to spend it with, places you want to go, things you want to do, and adventures you want to have. AND LIVE IT. When we live with intention to make those things happen, they are more likely to take priority in our life. It’s your life and it feels good to take control of the direction you want it to go in.

Wow! I think I just inspired myself to sit down and go over my goals for 2018 again! Good luck with setting your New Year Goals! Leave me a comment to let me know if this will help! If this seems daunting and over whelming I want to let all my readers know that on March 10th I will be hosting a vision board workshop (more info to come).  Vision boards are a fantastic way to see your goals everyday, to keep them at the forefront of your attention and live your intention!