Improving the S.M.A.R.T. Goal Acronym

This video clip about SMART goals is from a goal setting presentation I gave to the Job and Career Program at the Russell Library in Middletown, CT.

The SMART goal system is a great way to define and clarify your goals – but I believe that the traditional definition of SMART goals may actually be holding you back and keeping you from achieving your big goals and dreams. But by making a simple change, you can improve your chances of success.

If you want to change your life for the better, you have to take away all limits to your success. Don’t limit yourself by insisting that your goals be realistic. Where would the world be if everyone stuck to ‘realistic’ goals?

Stretch yourself!

How to Motivate Yourself

Do you know how to motivate yourself? Or does your motivation waver depending upon what is going on around you?

Learning how to motivate yourself is an essential skill you must master if you are serious about making changes in your life. I get asked all the time, “How do I motivate myself?”

The biggest problem most people have when it comes to getting and staying motivated is that life gets in the way of their dreams. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever gotten up in the morning and felt fired up about your goals and dreams, only to have that fire dampened by the events of your day?

It happens because you switched your perspective. You allowed something else to take center stage in your mind. You allowed the daily drama of your life to override your priorities and as a result you feel less and less attached to your goals as you move through your day.

Your perspective is one of three motivation strategies I wrote about in an earlier post on how to motivate yourself. Those three strategies are key to building motivation for yourself. But the real secret to learning how to motivate yourself to achieve anything you desire goes beyond any strategy.  The real secret to motivation is having a desire that you really, really, really want fulfilled. It isn’t enough to wish for something, or to simply want a change to happen. You have to desire it with all your heart. You have to desire it as much as you desire your next breath of air.

Desire fuels motivation. The more you desire something, the more motivated you will be to do things that will move you in the direction of that desire. You have seen this at work in your own life. The more you want something, the more you are willing to do to get it.

Think about your biggest dream, your biggest goal. Do you feel fired up when you think about it? Is achieving it a priority in your life? This is the point where struggle can creep into the motivation process, because doubts and fears about reaching your goal can affect your priorities.

But doubts and fears can be vanquished by the strength of your desire. If your desire is strong enough you will be motivated to move forward, in spite of your fears and in spite of your doubts. If your desire is weak, those doubts and fears will freeze you in your tracks and your motivation disappears.

How to motivate yourself always comes down to the question of desire. How much do you want this change in your life? When you want it more than you want to remain where you are, motivating yourself is not an issue. You are naturally motivated to take action. In fact, you will be so busy turning your dreams into reality that you won’t even have to ask how to motivate yourself. You will be a motivated person!

Reaching your goals on time

Reaching your goals on time is probably important to you. I know it is for me. You want something and you want it by a certain time. (Usually right now! or at least pretty fast!) You don’t want to wait and wait to reach your goals, but that is exactly what happens when you fail to follow one of the guiding principles of goal setting.

You see, there are two schools of thought when it comes to goal setting and manifesting your desires. On one side are the advocates of an inner approach to goal setting – these methods are usually all about aligning with your desires and then waiting for them to manifest or show up in your life. On the other side are the external methods of goal setting – a more straight forward approach that involves linear thinking and taking specific action steps to produce specific results.

Both methods work, but neither method works for everyone all the time.

Why is this? What does work all the time? Well, I’m sure you won’t be surprised when I tell you that the only true way to ensure your success at reaching your goals is to blend both the inner and outer methods into one complete process. You can’t really separate the inner you from the outer you anyway, so your best approach is always to work with your total self.

If we are, as so many of the great teachers say, spiritual beings having a physical experience, then it only makes sense that we should tap into as much of our internal power and energy as possible. But at the same time, we are existing in a physical reality, and in that reality, time is a an important factor.

That’s why you have to approach the idea of reaching your goals from a perspective that includes both your inner and outer worlds. That means not only should you begin to set concrete goals and develop specific action steps that will move you in the direction of what you want, you also should look inward and work on things like your beliefs, your self-talk, and your intentions.

If you are struggling to reach one of your goals, it might be because you are focusing your efforts too much on one side or the other. Either you are being too inner focused or too outer focused. Try to see where you have been placing your attention lately. Have you been working hard on a lot of ‘inner’ stuff? Or have you been driving yourself by being heavily invested in external goal setting?

Whichever you have been favoring, try spending a little more time on the other side. I think you will find that as you begin balancing your efforts between your inner and outer strengths you will discover that reaching your goals becomes a little easier and a lot more enjoyable!

Your ultimate life begins with goal setting!

Are you a goal setter or a goal achiever? Do you reach your goals in life quickly and easily? Or do you struggle when you try to make changes in your life?

Creating changes in your life – especially big ones – can be challenging. When struggle occurs, when it feels like nothing you do is working and your goals seem out of reach, it is easy to find something or someone to blame for the way things are going.

But if you really want to create change in your life, if you really want to achieve your goals, (especially those big ones!), then you must do two things.

First, you have to stop playing the blame game and decide to take control of your life.

And second, you must get good at setting goals. One of the basic principles of success in life is that you have to know exactly what you want in order to get it. Do you know exactly what you want?

It isn’t enough to have a vague notion about what you want, it isn’t enough to wish or hope that things will get better or that your luck will change. To live your best life, you have to know what you want your life to look like. This is the first step toward becoming a goal achiever.

Just as the process of becoming a chef first requires learning to cook, becoming a goal achiever requires you to first become a goal setter. What is a goal setter? A goal setter is a person who sets goals. It sounds elementary, but in reality, the reason that so many people struggle to reach their goals is simply that they don’t actually set goals in the first place. They tend to have lots of wishes and dreams, but they never take those dreams and make them real by turning them into concrete goals that they can work toward.

You can start changing your life right now by setting a few very real goals for yourself. Pick one or two things that you want to have or do. Write them down on paper.

Next, and this is important, you must then create a plan to achieve those goals. Without a plan of action you will wind up wasting a lot of time and energy by doing things that don’t produce the results that you want. So look at what you want and figure out what you have to do to get it. Ask for help if you need it, but learn what you have to do to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Then and only then should you begin taking actions that move you toward your goals. This is the only way to get the rapid results that you truly want.

You can become a magnificent goal achiever, you can create the life that you want, once you get good at goal setting. Like any other skill, the more you exercise your goal setting muscles the better you will become and the faster you will see changes take place in your life!

Setting a timeline to achieve your goals - a simple way to supercharge your efforts!

Creating a Timeline to Complete Your Goals
Have you set a timeline to complete your goals? If you have been struggling to reach your goals you might find it helpful to develop a timeline that charts exactly when you will complete each step along the path to your goal.

Creating a timeline for completing your goals is a powerful way to keep your focus on what is important right now – and it is not as hard as you might think! Follow the steps I share below and you too can develop a bullet-proof plan to reach your goals.

Too many people resist setting time-based goals because they feel that life should simply flow and that everything happens in it’s own time and at it’s own pace. But the reality is that those people never seem to actually reach the goals that they set for themselves. They end up waiting for the universe to deliver their desires. Waiting, and waiting, and waiting some more.

You don’t want to wait for your desires, do you? I didn’t think so!

By creating a timeline for completing your goals you eliminate those problems. A timeline keeps you on track and lets you stay focused on doing the ‘next thing’. The ‘next thing’ is what separates dreamers from achievers. If you know the next step along your path, and you know when you want to reach that next step in relation to your big goal, it becomes easier to manage your efforts.

Know Your End Result
Start by being crystal clear about your end result. It is hard to complete a goal if you don’t know what that goal looks like. Know exactly what you want to achieve. Then decide when you want to achieve that goal by.  Actually look at your calendar and pick a date that you want to be successful by.

So now you know exactly what you want and you know exactly when you want to have it by. That’s a great start! Just doing those two things – getting clear about your goal and setting a completion date – put you miles ahead of everyone else struggling to achieve their goals.

Break It Down
Your next step is to look at your desired end result and to identify the stepping stones along the path to your goal. Depending on your goal, you can do this one of two ways. Some goals have a linear progression of actions and achievements that you can chart, sort of like steps on a staircase. First you have to reach step one, then step two, then step three and so on. For example, if your goal is to get a college degree there are requirements and steps you have to take along the way. You have to complete some courses before taking others. Your skill builds as you move toward your desired end result. Lots of goals are like this.

Other goals, like losing weight, are more cumulative. In other words, once you identify the actions you need to take, you keep doing the same thing over and over until you reach your goal. Goals like these can be broken down into increments. If your goal is to lose 50 pounds by December 31, you could break your goal down into monthly mini-goals.

Create Your Timeline
However you break down your goal, go ahead and create an actual timeline on a piece of paper that maps out your journey. Draw a line across the paper. Label the left end of your line ‘NOW” and label the right end of your line with your desired end result. “Lost 50 pounds” or “Master’s Degree” or “New Car”. Whatever your goal is.

So now you have a line that stretches from ‘now’ to the completion of your goal. All that is left is to plug in the steps along the way. Each point on your timeline becomes a mini goal that you work towards.

Look at your desired end result and decide how you can break your big goal down into mini-goals and put those mini goals on your timeline. Now simply begin working toward the first point on your timeline. When you reach it, begin working toward the second and so on. Before you know it you will be on the verge of seeing your goal realized.

Once you set a timeline to complete your goals you will see a dramatic shift in the way you approach your goals. As you meet each step or point on your timeline, your steady progress reinforces your desire to succeed and you find yourself taking more and more right actions. Completing your goals becomes certain!

Go ahead and map out your own timeline for completing your goals. It is a simple process that can make achieving your goals far more likely!

Change your life by loving your life... Right now!

Do you love your life right now? Or are there parts of your life that you want to change? Creating change, learning how to change your life in empowering ways, is the common thread that ties all of our goals and desires together. Yours, mine, everyone’s. We all want things to get better… we all want our lives to be full and happy.

But we also all share another common thread, one that holds us back, one that keeps us from realizing our dreams and goals. That thread is called discontent. Now at first you might think that discontent would be a motivator, that being unhappy with the way things are would drive you to make the changes you want in your life.

But that is not true at all! In order to change your life, you must love your life the way it is right now – challenges and all. Being discontent, unhappy, dissatisfied, or mad at the world for handing you such a crummy life only keeps you stuck in that frame of mind. When you experience life as a victim, you give away your power to control your own life. The same thing happens when you blame life or your boss or anything else outside of yourself for your problems. You give away your power.

But that all changes when you love your life the way it is right now. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it. How do you do this? By deciding to. You can make a conscious decision to love your life right now – in spite of your problems, in spite of all your challenges, and in spite of whatever negativity you see in your life right now!

You see, when you come from a place of love, you are free to focus on the important things, you are free to focus on solutions rather than being stuck on the problems in your life. Unlike being unhappy with your life, being loving toward yourself is empowering and lets you move forward.

This is because we all have the tendency to continue being whatever we are being right now. If you are being unhappy with your life right now, you will probably continue being unhappy with your life for the foreseeable future… unless you change your outlook and start showing up in your life with an attitude of love and gratitude.

Loving your life the way it is now, doesn’t mean ignoring your problems, it means looking at them from a new perspective. Anything that you look at with love will look dramatically different from something that you look at with discontent or unhappiness.

Try this in your own life and see if it doesn’t make a huge difference in the way you see things. Not only will you find it easier to reach your goals when you are loving life, you will have a much clearer vision of exactly what you want your life to be like!

Choosing your goals isn't always easy!

You would think that choosing your goals would be easy, right? After all, you know what you want. You know what you want your life to look like.

The problem is that most of us have many, many wants and desires, and it can be hard to decide which ones to work on. We want so much, in so many areas of our lives, that it can feel overwhelming!

Some people get stuck right here in the goal setting process, because with so many desires they wind up feeling helpless and don’t make progress toward any of their desires. Other people try to do everything at once – they try to transform their entire life overnight – and they wind up crashing and burning because they spread themselves to thin.

Choosing your goals, deciding which of your wants and desires to focus on right now, doesn’t have to be a painful process. Not if you approach the process with your end result in mind.

What is your end result? Your end result is what you want your life to look and feel like tomorrow and the next day and every day after that. Imagine your life so complete in every way that you can’t think of a single desire… that is your desired end result!

So to get there, to reach the life that you envision for yourself, you must start somewhere. I always recommend that you begin with the goal that, when you reach it, will make the biggest difference in your life. The goal that you feel the strongest about.

The goals that you choose to reach first will be the goals that you have the strongest reason WHY for. Because ‘why’ you want to reach a goal has a tremendous affect on whether or not you actually reach that goal. A strong reason ‘why’ you want to achieve your goal will always motivate you to do more, to take more action, and to keep going when life throws challenges in your path.

Don’t allow yourself to get stuck when choosing your goals. Here is a simple goal setting exercise that will help you. Make a list of those things that you want to achieve, then next to each one write the reasons why you want to reach that goal. Ask yourself what reaching that goal will mean in your life. Do this for each of the things that you wrote down. Which of your goals resonates with you the most deeply? Which are you the most passionate about reaching?

Those are the goals you should be making plans to achieve first!

Of course, choosing your goals is just the first step, but as the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  Take that step today! Choose your goals and start creating the life that you truly want!

Don't wish for inspiration, find it within yourself!

Would you like to be inspired to reach new heights in your personal and professional life?

Would you like to have the energy and focus necessary to have your next breakthrough?

You can, and inspiration is the key that will get you there.

It is amazing what inspiration can do. Inspiration has been credited with being the catalyst of the world’s greatest works of art, of fantastic feats of building, of deep acts of love, and much, much more.

You can see inspiration at work in your own life too.  Have you ever been inspired to cook a great meal? Or to do your very best at a certain task? I’m sure you have. You might even have been inspired to make a change in your life, or to totally transform your life. The truth is that inspiration is at the root of all that you do.

But inspiration can seem fleeting, especially when your day to day struggles and problems keep getting in the way of your dreams. At times it can seem that you are actually uninspired!

At those times, you don’t do the things you know you need to do. You don’t do the important things – the things that would move you closer to your goals.

You see, all of your goals and big dreams will only be realized when you are inspired to take actions. The problem is that most people sit around waiting for inspiration to show up on their doorstep.

This never works. In fact, it causes more harm than good!

Here is what I have learned: Inspiration is the spark that ignites your passion and your drive. It comes from within you and pushes you toward a specific path.

Think about your biggest goal, your biggest dream. What inspired you to want that particular dream? That feeling, the one you get when you think about your big dream, that is your inspiration at work. That feeling never goes away as long as you hold that dream as something you desire.

It only seems like you are uninspired at times because you are overcome with all of the other parts of your life, all demanding your attention at the same time.

That spark of inspiration that you felt gets lost in the shuffle. But it is not really lost!

All you need to do to feel that spark of inspiration again is to reconnect with your goal or dream. Take a moment to pause and allow yourself to see the ‘big picture’. Remind yourself of your commitment to your dreams. Reaffirm your belief in yourself. Let yourself FEEL your desire to have that goal become a reality.

Don’t let your goals and dreams get pushed into a corner of your mind. Keep them front and center!

Do that and you will experience breakthrough after breakthrough. Hitting the next level in your personal or professional life will become a routine experience.  All because YOU allowed the spark of inspiration within you to grow and show you the way.

You already possess all of the inspiration you need to succeed in life. You just have to nurture it and let it guide you.

Want to reach your goals? Start showing up for your own success.

Goal setting has become more and more common, and while this is good because it means that more and more people are taking an active role in their personal success, unfortunately for many of those people, actually reaching goals hasn’t gotten any easier.

That is because success of any kind, whether it is reaching your goals or just finding happiness in life, depends a great deal on you showing up and being present in your life.

If you are still struggling, still trying to reach your goals, but still hitting roadblocks, you are probably getting frustrated. That frustration is keeping you from success. It’s a vicious cycle, but one that you can break free of.

It starts by showing up for your own success.

Sometimes, and I have been guilty of this myself, it is easy to get caught up in the day to day drudgery of your current life. You get so busy dealing with problems and going through the same mess over and over, that you find yourself slipping further from your goals rather than making progress. Things seem to keep going downhill no matter what you do.

Opportunities slip by you. You feel disconnected from your goals and dreams.

To change that, to start living the full and exciting life you know you deserve, you simply have to open up your mind and decide to be present.

Being present means taking an active role in your life, rather than drifting along on autopilot.  It means being consciously aware of what is really going on in your life. It means participating.

Most of the time, the success you want doesn’t come from a single, big scary action that you have to take. It comes from the small, daily habits that you perform. The ones you don’t think about. Those are the ones that will change your life. Those are the ones that will make a difference.

But if you are not present, if you are not conscious of those things you do, chances are pretty good that you will miss out on a lot that life has to offer. It is like going through life with blinders on.

To be more present in your life will take a conscious effort, at least at first. But the more you open yourself up and allow yourself to participate in your life rather than watch it roll by, the more you will gain in the long run.

If you are serious about learning how to reach your goals, then being present in your life and taking an active role in your own success will help you in ways that you can’t even imagine!

How to Reach Your Goals

Reaching your goals – how fast you reach them, and how completely they manifest in your life – depends a lot upon your decision making skills. Every step of your journey from where you are to where you want to be, (your goals), is filled with decisions of every size and level of importance.

Goal setting and goal achievement doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. Once you understand what it takes to go from setting a goal to actually achieving your goal, you will see that a lot of it revolves around the decisions you make all day, every day.

The better you become at making good decisions the sooner your dreams and goals will materialize in your life!