How are they different? 

I’m sure you are thinking, surely goal setting can’t be that hard. You are kind of right. At the heart of it, it’s not that hard. You write out something you want to achieve and then plan out the steps and then you remain focused and motivated and keep going till you achieve that goal. Simple right?

This works like a treat for a Netflix binge or Black Friday shopping! but not so well for a health or financial goal.

Don’t be hard on yourself. We are not wired to plan for the long term. From our hunter-gatherer days, we are physiologically tuned to catching our food to eat for the day. And so to remain motivated to achieve something we naturally don’t want to do there has to be a foolproof structure in place.

What are they?

This is where S.M.A.R.T. goals come in to help. They are goals that are -Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

 If we break it down, they should answer the following questions.

1. Why is this goal important?
2. How do you ensure that they are specific?
3. How will you feel if you could achieve this goal?

Who uses them?

Most companies adopt this method in their version of the Performance Development Plan or Annual Review. HR teams have found that when employees set their own goals there is a higher chance of achieving them. Usually in the corporate sector, there is a good intention, and then somewhere along the line, budgets and share prices control whether you get a bonus or not. 

The fact that your department did exceedingly well and you met all your goals has little bearing on a salary increase and so most employees are left feeling disgruntled. They treat it like a yearly checkbox exercise and do not pay much attention to it.

But the concept is fundamentally strong and has helped me achieve a lot of my goals. 

The trick is to understand where your blind spots lie, and what shortcuts will your brain create to obstacles, what points of friction can be eliminated so that nothing stands in the way of your success.

By talking to you, I can brainstorm with you to achieve clarity on the goal and why you want to achieve it. I can help remove emotion and biases and ensure that it is specific and attainable.

Most of us overestimate what can be done in the short term and underestimate what can be achieved over the long term.

By slicing and dicing your goal and having a catch-up call as your accountability buddy I aim to remove all resistance and keep you focused on success.