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!

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 (read more…)

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 (read more…)

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 (read more…)

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 (read more…)