Setting Goals

What are goals, and why do they matter? A goal is a future task created which a person or group of people would have to work for. One might want to buy a car, so a goal would be to collect enough money to buy a car. A student in school would have a goal of getting a degree or certification. A person might even have a simple goal of waking up at a certain time in the morning.

So now, what is the importance of setting goals? A goal is set because something of importance needs to be done or obtained. Using my previous examples, I will say that getting a car will be classified as important. I would also think that getting a degree or certification is important as well. Now, a goal to wake up in the morning may not seem that big of a deal, but the reasoning behind that being a goal would have a level of importance.

There are 2 different type of goals that people set: short-term goals and long-term goals. Now short-term goals are generally something that is easy to obtain and within a small amount of time. An example of this would be something like setting a goal to go to the grocery store within the next 2 days. Just the other day my daughter made a goal to make sure she asked her boss what her schedule would be for the rest of the week. That would be another example of a short-term goal.

Long-term goals are generally set for later in the future. A college student having a goal of finishing school that is 4 to 8 years long would be considered long-term goals. Someone at work may have a goal of getting a promotion that they know could take maybe 2 years, but they are willing to work towards it, would be another example. As a personal trainer, I once had a client who had injured herself skiing and she wanted to be able to ski again. She had 14 months to get herself right so she could go to the company ski trip. Her goal was to be able to ski like she was able to and better when the ski trip came around.

Now let’s talk about steps to achieving these goals. There must be an understanding of the reality of the goal. Is the goal realistic? When can this goal be achieved? What is the importance of this goal? These are questions to consider when setting goals. A goal was set for a reason and you do not want to get into the habit of creating goals and not meeting them.

There is acronym by the name S.M.A.R.T. that we will use to help us to achieve our goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Now let's understand this acronym with an example of a goal I created.

The first quarter of last year I got back in school to finish my work towards a Bachelor's degree. So, my goal is to get my Bachelor's degree. We need to add substance to this goal which will help me to achieve it. Right now, this is just an open goal. An open goal is a goal established but with no means or reason of achieving it. I will turn this goal into a S.M.A.R.T. goal and watch it come alive.

Specific - what exactly is the goal?

The goal is to obtain my Bachelor's degree.

Measurable - how do I know when my goal is achieved?

My goal is achieved when I get my diploma.

Attainable - Is this a goal that is possible?

Yes, I am fully confident in knowing that I can achieve this goal.

Realistic - Am I able to work towards this goal? Is this a goal for me to pursue?

I have my Associates degree and Bachelor's degree comes next. With the proper planning I can achieve this goal.

Timely - When do I want to achieve this goal?

I want to have my Bachelor's degree by the end of 2020.

So now my S.M.A.R.T. goal is as follows: My goal is to obtain my Bachelor's degree by the end of 2020.

After establishing this S.M.A.R.T goal, I had to ask myself, how do I plan on achieving this goal. I began to put a plan together. Since my classes are all online, I created a timeline of the start and finish of each semester. I also looked at all the classes that I needed to take, and looked to see how they would fit into each semester. As a full-time employee and a father, it was important to create a schedule that allowed me the time to work, play, and school.

Obstacles will happen and setting goals without the substance of what, why, how, and when, the obstacles encountered will interrupt and possibly stop whatever goal set. With substance, creating a S.M.A.R.T. goal, your goal becomes a movement.

I can say that I will have my Bachelor's degree a week before Christmas 2020.

Thank you and I hope you found this to be a good read.