Setting SMART Goals

In honor of my upcoming 66 Days of Bold Action Challenge, that starts on July 15th, I want to revisit a topic that we’ve talked about a lot here, and that’s goal setting. 

When you set goals, you establish direction in your intentions, your actions, and your thoughts. It’s’ like setting a destination in your GPS — you decide where you’re going and you take the necessary steps to get there.

Believe it or not, there’s a science to setting goals effectively and putting yourself in the best possible position to actually achieve those goals. Of course, when we set goals, we want to succeed at accomplishing them and not just set them for the sake of setting them.

So let’s revisit how to effectively set goals, and crush them.

First, a little history. In 1981, a guy named George Doran wrote a paper that appeared in Management Review called, There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives. In it, he used S.M.A.R.T. as an acronym for his method of setting objectives. Here’s what is required for a S.M.A.R.T. objective or goal:

Specific — Choose a specific thing you’d like to achieve.

Measurable — You must be able to measure your progress toward accomplishing it.

Attainable— You must have access to or be able to get access to whatever you need to accomplish the goal.

Realistic — It must be something that pushes you but is within your real ability to achieve.

Time Specific— You must give yourself a specific time frame in which to achieve it.

Here’s an example of a SMART goal:

I will be able to run 2 miles in 20 minutes or less by September 1, 2019.

Simple enough, right? Take a moment and write out your goal using the SMART criteria.

Now that you’ve got your goal, here are some tips on how to crush it:

  1. Say your goal out loud. Meditate on it and envision yourself actually achieving it.
  2. Write your goal down and put it in a place where you will see it often. Whenever your eye catches it, stop and read your goal out loud.
  3. Tell a handful of close friends and family about your goal. If you have a person who usually holds you accountable for your actions (a significant other, a best friend, etc.), make sure you tell them. 
  4. Join the 66 Days of Bold Action Challenge. In the Challenge, you’ll be able to join the 66 Days of Bold Action Accountability Group where you’ll have a whole group of people holding you accountable and encouraging you. Click here to join.
  5. Take action! If you never actually act on your goal, you’ll never achieve it. Break the larger goal up into smaller goals so that it’s easier to get done, and don’t stop until you accomplish it.

So now you’ve got a goal, join the 66 Days of Bold Action Challenge, create a plan of action, and make it happen. To join the Challenge, click the link below.


Do you know someone who would enjoy this article? If so, please share it with them, and listen to my podcast, Master Your Mission, for daily motivation and inspiration to pursue your dreams.

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