How To Set Goals in 4 Steps
For more on the importance of SMART goals see my first guest post with the Academy of Fencing Masters blog
If you read my post with the Academy of Fencing Masters blog, you know what I have to say about the importance of goals and what makes a good one - they should be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) and stated in a positive way (you should be better than a rock at accomplishing your goal). That still leaves the question of how to actually go about setting a goal that works for you.
I am going to outline a step-by-step process I recommend for finding a goal (or goals) that works (or work) for you.
First step - pick a goal
The first think you are gonna do is think of something you’d love to be able to say ‘I did it!’ about. It doesn’t have to be anything particular, the first step is just to pick something.
If you can’t think of anything you love right away, take a moment. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let your body relax (especially your shoulders). Then take another deep breath, and ask yourself ‘what would be exciting to accomplish?’
Whatever comes to mind - that’s your goal. If you don’t know if it feels right that’s fine - you can always change it later. Remember: this is a skill that you are practicing, not a one-step process that you can be perfect at immediately.
Next - pick a time frame
Second, think about how long you’d like to give yourself for this - that will decide if this is a short- mid- or long-term goal. If this feels like something you can accomplish in a few days or weeks, even a month or two, I would call that a short term goal. If it’s a few months to a year, that’s a mid-term goal. Anything that is multiple years out - that’s a long-term goal.
You might prefer to start with a long-term goal and then set intermediate goals to help you get there - or you might want to start with something short-term that you can feel connected to right away.
There is not a right or wrong place to start with goal setting - you’ve gotta start somewhere and wherever you are right now is fine.
Make it real
Third, sit with that goal for a moment. Notice what it feels like when you think about reaching it.
Is it exciting, and a little bit scary? Perfect! Or, does it feel uninteresting, not very satisfying to accomplish? This goal may not be challenging enough, or you may want to go in a different direction. Does it feel overwhelming and terrifying? That goal may be a bit too much for right now - maybe set a smaller goal for the moment and come back to that one later.
As you’re thinking about whether this goal feels right for you, take a moment and write down:
What will you have to do to make this happen?
Do you want to do that?
What will you need to NOT do, or let go of, to make your goal happen?
How much time and effort will it take?
If all of that is correct - will it feel worth it when you accomplish your goal?
Review time!
Fourth, put it through the SMART and positive filters. Can you do it better than a rock? is it Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-oriented? If it doesn’t fit for any one of those criteria, what can you change or adjust so it does? (for more on SMART goals, see the post I mentioned above with the Academy of Fencing Masters)
Take a few minutes to fine-tune your goal and make sure it fits the above criteria, and then you’re good to go!
Once you’ve gone through this process once, it will be easier the next time - and the next, and the next. It’s often helpful to have a goal to work towards, and over time you will get better at choosing goals that match what you really want. It doesn’t need to be perfect right now, this is just a starting point.
In conclusion
If you don’t accomplish what you set out to, take another look at what happened. Where did your hopes and expectations depart from reality? Were you mistaken in what you thought it would take to accomplish your goals? Were you correct, but you weren’t able to do as much as you thought? Did something get in your way?
Or, if you did succeed, what made that possible? What set you up for success that you can do again in the future?
Remember, goals are entirely personal. There is no right or wrong goal to choose to work towards, and it doesn’t make you a better or worse person to accomplish your goals. Hopefully, though, it make you happy.
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