Are you having trouble sticking with your goals? It might be the way you're approaching it! In this post we're teaching you about SMART goals and how they can help you crush your goals.
Tell us if this sounds familiar...
You wake up one morning feeling motivated and full of energy. You look out the window, see someone out for a jog, and say "today's the day! I'm going to be a runner. I'm going to register for that 5k in a few weeks."
You open a web browser, register for the race, and boom - you're a runner! Now all you've got to do is... train, and eat healthy, and learn how to stretch properly, and hydrate, and buy new sneakers, and figure out where the race actually is, and oh... wow, this is starting to sound like a LOT of work.
If this sounds familiar to you, you are NOT alone!
We’ve all done it. 
We set a goal with the best intentions - or we're assigned a task by our boss/family member/teacher - and while it seemed easy enough to agree to in the first place suddenly it seems like... a lot.
Sometimes it's because unplanned events pop up and throw us off course.
Other times it's because we lose interest or burn out.
Whatever the case, we find ourselves stuck in a whirlwind of unfinished or untouched tasks. Which leaves us feeling stretched thin, burnt out, and with a side of imposter syndrome.
So squash the overwhelm by setting SMART goals.
What’s a SMART Goal? Keep reading!
When you use these parameters to set your goals you increase the likelihood of accomplishing them.
Knowing the details about your goals is half the battle. Ask yourself these five questions:
Having most, if not all, of these answers will resolve most confusion and bring you clarity.
Can you imagine if Elon Musk said, “Ok guys, we’re going to build a rocket today” and he had zero specifics figured out the day of rocket construction? It would have been a total disaster, and no one would have taken him seriously.
Can you measure the progress of your goal? If not, then your goals aren’t specific enough.
If you want to beat your personal best record for running a 5k, then you record your first attempted time. Then you compare it to the next time and the time after that to see your rate of success and progress.
Keeping a record of your goal and progress is proven to play a valuable role in accomplishing your goal.
According to KathKyle.com, “People who write down their goals are 20% more successful in accomplishing them than those who did not.”
Unrealistic goals are often at the root of disappointment.
Instead of setting yourself up for defeat and failure, take large goals and break them down into smaller tasks that you can accomplish more easily.
Having more manageable goals will allow you to avoid burnout since you’ll be able to pace yourself better along the path of success.
Your goals should be important to you and should make sense for the bigger picture. Make sure these goals are reasonable.
Planning to lose 100lbs in three months by only walking isn’t sensible, but you can break this larger goal down into sub-goals and reach that weight loss goal over a longer period of time.
For example, in the next year, I plan to lose 100lbs by running, rock climbing, and by reducing my sugar and sodium intake for the next year, will certainly get you closer to that overall goal in a more realistic fashion.
Some goals take 1 week, 1 month, or 1+ years to achieve. Whatever the case may be, defining a deadline for a goal will create a timeline and sense of urgency to complete the task at hand, giving us a greater rate of success to crush our goal.
Having a deadline motivates most people to knock the goal out and to shift our focus and priorities so we can obtain our goals!
Now imagine your future self, stepping even more into your greatness because you’re equipped with the mentality of a go-getter.
You’ve annihilated the overwhelm by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals.
You’ve begun utilizing what you’ve learned here and have gotten into the habit of jotting down your SMART goals. You embrace these new tactics to accomplish all that you set your sights on.
You feel good and more confident than ever!
Resources: https://www.kathkyle.com/goal-setting-statistics/
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