Goal setting: critical components for success
Posted: July 11, 2018
Goal setting is critical to success. If we don’t have a roadmap, so to speak, we really don’t know where we are going.
When we set goals, we always say they need to be SMART: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based.
But let’s take that a step farther. Goal setting in SMART format is actually creating an action plan that is part of a larger process. That process starts with a vision of what you want to accomplish. Once the vision is in place, we have to have other things as well, and they all have to be present in order for us to be successful. Do we have the skills needed? If not, learning those skills should be part of the action plan. What is our incentive for attempting the project in the first place? Do we need specific resources? If so, acquiring them should also be part of the action plan.
When we put the process together, we actually wind up with this:
| If we have all the components for success in place, | |||||
| then we will be successful at what we are trying to achieve. | |||||
| Even one missing item can have negative effects. This is why planning | |||||
| out your goals in SMART format is so important! | |||||
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | =SUCCESS!! |
| <Missing> | Skills | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | =CONFUSION |
| Vision | <Missing> | Incentive | Resources | Action Plan | =ANXIETY |
| Vision | Skills | <Missing> | Resources | Action Plan | =SLOW CHANGE |
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | <Missing> | Action Plan | =FRUSTRATION |
| Vision | Skills | Incentive | Resources | <Missing> | =FALSE STARTS |
As has been said before: those who plan for success, succeed. Setting SMART goals and making sure that all the components for success are present forces you to focus on the vision and refine it down into the specific objective you are trying to achieve. That focus allows you to eliminate dead ends and wasted time, and keeps you on the straight and narrow path to success!