Is there such a thing as a dumb goal?
I have to tell you after watching some of the reality shows on tv, I might think there are MANY dumb goals.
Some of these shows make me scratch my head in disbelief.
This is not exactly the “SMART” I was referring to. 😉
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym coined by George Doran in the 1981 article, “There’s a SMART Way to Write Management Goals and Objectives” in the Management Review. Each letter represents an objective in writing the goals necessary to meet certain end results. Those letters stand for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-related.
SPECIFIC means your goal should not be vague.
An example of this is, “My goal is to TRAVEL more this summer.” This does not identify where, how much or exactly when? You could mean traveling to the next town maybe??? Instead of traveling 2 days maybe 10 days??? Getting specific helps to make the objective well defined.
MEASURABLE allows you the ability to know if your goals have been attained. If you say I plan to travel to Germany before the end of August. The trip will be for 10 days. This will allow you the requirements to take the necessary steps to prepare the resources to achieve that goal.
ASSIGNABLE is necessary to establish WHO will be completing the task at hand. I really wanted to follow the actual article in this example. I notice many explanations regarding SMART goals deviate some from the original George Doran 1981 version. This article was written in a management goal perspective and it’s necessary to discover the WHO will be responsible for the goal achievement. For my traveling example I will suggest maybe a travel agency to assist in preparing the objectives to meet the goal I would like to accomplish.
REALISTIC is a necessary measure to whether this goal is even possible with the resources currently on hand. Are you so far behind financially that leaving the country is even achievable? How about the possibility that you might be due to give birth one week BEFORE said trip? Setting realistic goals is appropriate for successful results.
Time Related provides you an END goal. When do you want to accomplish this goal? For our travel example let’s say by August 31st since we want to travel during summer.
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals is the best way to achieve success with your objectives. The best planned goals are regularly met.
According to Brian Tracy,
“A Goal without a PLAN is only a dream.”
Let’s stop dreaming and start DOING!!!
I’m rooting for you!
Love,
Georgia