By: Danicia Clarke
“What goals have you set for the new year?” is a question that I am sure you have been asked within the past couple of weeks. As cliché, as it may be, identifying areas of personal improvement is important for us as individuals. Empirical studies have shown that goal setting increases performance and motivation levels. It’s also important to be aware of the risk of failing those set goals. Years of research have described goal failure to potentially affect intrapersonal and self-related factors.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A common missing link in goal completion comes from a lack of detailed planning. An individual may have a goal of eating healthier food but may have difficulty pinpointing the details of getting there. If goal setting seems challenging for you, I encourage you to try setting S.M.A.R.T goals. George T. Doran’s SMART acronym has gained much popularity through positive empirical reviews and anecdotal evidence. Let me break it down for you…
S – your goal should be specific and clear for you to understand.
M – you should be able to measure how you are progressing toward your goal from start to finish
A – you must critically think about how achievable your goal is. Ask yourself:
- Is my goal realistic based on my current situation?
- Do I have the resources to achieve my goal?
R – determine whether your goal is relevant and important to you. Ask yourself:
- Will achieving this goal be worthwhile for me?
- Does this goal align with my values and long-term objectives?
T – ensure you have set a time-bound deadline for you to meet your goal. For example, consider how many weeks or months are reasonable enough for you to progress with this goal.
Quick Tips
- Write out your smart goals on a blank sheet of paper to solidify your commitment and intention to self-develop
- Visualize yourself in a space where you have completed your goal! Identify some thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that you may experience at that moment. Reinforce your desires by creating a safe space to revisit your visualizations along your journey to goal completion
- Place your smart goals sheet in a place where you can view it and connect to it daily.
- Periodically review your progress. Identify and accept your successes and challenges. Refine goals as needed, however, always keep the S.M.A.R.T acronym in mind!
Citation: Hopfner, J., & Keith, N. (2021). Goal missed, self hit: Goal-setting, goal failure, and their affective, motivational and behavioral consequences. Sec. Organizational Psychology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8490751/