This week I’ve been preparing for my upcoming workshop at Scripps College. I will be doing a segment on time & stress management for the students in the high school program they offer. I’m so excited to teach people of that age what I have so far only been teaching adults. Yay! So inspiring 🙂
As I prepare for my upcoming seminar, I thought it might be a great chance to review the goal setting process with you too. Read on to learn about SMART goals and how to make them even SMARTER.
You may have heard of SMART goals through work or at a seminar. SMART is an acronym for SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE, ACHEIVEABLE, REALISTIC and TIME. This is a super effective way to set goals and when you set a goal that meets all of these criteria you will be starting off on a solid ground and well on your way to achieving your goals. From there all you need is to take action CONSISTENTLY.
The NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), process takes this a step further to ensure maximum effectiveness by utilizing all of the FIVE SENSES.
The following tips will help you set goals in a way that will ensure success.
State Your Goal in the Positive.
What do you want? What would you rather have? Be specific i.e. measurable. For example, if you want to lose weight, state how much you would like to weigh.
Is Your Goal Within Your Control?
Are you doing this for you or someone else? Does the outcome rely solely on you? For example, stating that you would like your spouse to take you on a vacation is a goal that is reliant upon your spouse.
Does Your Goal Describe Evidence Procedure?
Ask yourself how you will know that you’re getting the desired outcome? What will you be doing when you get it? What will you see, hear, and feel when you get it?
Define the Context of Your Goal.
Where, when, how and with whom do you want to achieve your goal?
Identify Necessary resources.
What resources do you have now that will help you achieve your goal? What resources do you need to acquire to help you achieve your goal? Have you achieved this type of goal before and how can that help you this time? What happens if you act like you have the resources you need? By putting yourself in the place of already having what you need, you will shift your mindset and shift your beliefs to where they need to be in order to get things done.
Is Your Goal Ecological?
Make sure the desired outcome fits within all aspects of your life. What is the real purpose of why you want this? What will you lose or gain if you get it? What will or won’t happen if you get it? What will or won’t happen if you don’t get it? You may decide you don’t really want it after all, or you may change the parameters of the initial goal.
Identify the First Step.
What is the very first thing you need to do? Do it 🙂
By following the SMART guidelines and the NLP techniques noted above, you will reach your goals in no time. Just remember to take action daily 🙂