Hi everybody Cheryl Molten coming at you with your dynamite tip of the day, and today we are going to be talking about goals. Specifically smart goals. You’ve probably heard that before, but let’s drill down just a little bit and talk about what a smart goal is. I’m actually going to introduce you to a new concept which is the brainchild of my good friend Michelle McCullough and it is called smarty goals, which I like even better than smart goals. Smarty, and smart, are both an acronym for Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Time-sensitive, there’s a deadline involved. So that is SMART, and you’ve probably heard that before. So let’s go through those really, really quickly.
S is for Specific
Specific, if I just say I want to lose weight that is not a smart goal because it’s not specific. If I say I want to lose 10 pounds by the 27th of May, that is very specific and that would qualify as a smart goal because it’s specific. So make sure your goals are number one, specific. In order to be a smart goal that’s what the S stands for.
M is for Measurable
Number two is measurable, the M is for measurable. So, there’s my “I want to lose 10 pounds,” rather than just a generic “I want to lose weight.” I’ve seen many people set these generic goals and they’re not exciting. They don’t inspire anybody to action because they are not measurable.
A is for Attainable
A is attainable, if I said I want to lose 10 pounds by tomorrow I’d have to sever a limb in order to make that happen, which would not be a good long term game for me. So it actually has to be something that you really truly can achieve if you push hard and you work hard, but it has to be attainable.
R is for Realistic and T is for Time
R is right along with that same vein, realistic. It has to be a realistic goal in order for it to qualify as a smart goal, and T is for time. Has to have that time element involved. A dream is a goal with a deadline. So you’ve got to make sure that you’ve got that deadline in place in order to make this a true smart goal. So what is a smarty goal?
and Y is for your Why
My good friend Michelle McCullough, who is the chapter president of our national speakers’ association mountain west chapter, an amazing speaker and author. In one of her fabulous books, she talks about smarty goals. I thought “Wow this is really cool.” The Y is your why, and she actually references one of my favorite Ted Talks that I utilize in my teaching, in my speaking, all the time which is Simon Sinek. If you look for his Ted Talk called Start With Why, and he has a book by the same title.
Absolutely phenomenal. People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. We need to understand why we want this goal. If we will get emotionally invested in why we want this goal, and the outcome and what’s going to happen if we do, and ultimately what are the consequences going to be if we don’t it will make the goal so much more powerful for us. So, there’s your smarty goals and your dynamite tip of the day.