{"id":1691,"date":"2014-01-08T21:03:38","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T03:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/?p=1691"},"modified":"2014-01-08T20:54:58","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T02:54:58","slug":"goals-smart-criteria-and-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/goals-smart-criteria-and-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Goals, SMART Criteria, and You"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve talked before about goals \u2013 whether that\u2019s the traditional New Year\u2019s Resolution(s) or more generally setting goals for our life.\u00a0 We all know that what makes this most likely to succeed \u2013 setting SMART goals \u2013 and yet we don\u2019t always follow this mnemonic when the New Year is here and we choose what we want to be different <i>this<\/i> year.\u00a0 And aren\u2019t there always things we want to be different this year \u2013 the resolution of a past struggle or success at some new endeavor?\u00a0 Then what\u2019s stopping us from using the SMART mnemonic as we set our sights on how things can be different, even better?<\/p>\n<p>Quickly, here are the SMART criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Specific \u2013 be specific about what you want to change\/improve, answer (usually) each of the 5 W\u2019s (what, why, where, who, and which)<\/li>\n<li>Measurable \u2013 what are you going to measure and how to know you\u2019ve accomplished your goal (i.e. weight lost or time walking a mile etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Attainable (and realistic) \u2013 how can the goal be reached?<\/li>\n<li>Relevant \u2013 the goal matters and the timing works<\/li>\n<li>Time-bound \u2013 answers \u201cwhen?\u201d; sometimes an end date, though might be first milestone where you can feel successful along the path to creating routines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>First, as I\u2019ve said before, is this a good time for you to be setting goals?\u00a0 Simply because this is the time of year when we\u2019ve been taught to set resolutions, with the calendar moving into a new year, does not automatically mean this is a good time for you to be embarking on making changes.\u00a0 Can you ignore the social conventions of setting a goal and just say no?\u00a0 The R in SMART is \u201crelevant\u201d and sometimes that means recognizing that this is not the time for you to set any goals.\u00a0 The flow and events of our lives aren\u2019t necessarily going to follow any calendar events \u2013 therefore, consider whether there is a more realistic (or \u201cattainable\u201d) time for you to set goals.\u00a0 For example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>work slows down in the summer and I won\u2019t feel so overwhelmed<\/li>\n<li>2 of the 5 big time-consuming things I\u2019m juggling right now need to be dealt with before I will even have the time or focus to contemplate other changes<\/li>\n<li>I\u2019m more motivated in the spring with life springing up around me<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Simply because the timing doesn\u2019t work for you does not mean you are procrastinating or making excuses \u2013 really.<\/p>\n<p>Second, if you know the principles of using the SMART mnemonic, do you use it?\u00a0 What gets in your way for working through the SMART goal steps?\u00a0 There are any number of reasons we might avoid working with these criteria, yet finding our own resistances can help us find our way through to making successful changes.<\/p>\n<p>As we all things we do and want to change, we go through an ebb and flow, where our motivation and focus fluctuates.\u00a0 And it\u2019s not always clear to us where in the process we exactly are \u2013 from being realistic to easily discouraged to highly dedicated \u2013 to the goals we have.\u00a0 I know that my goal from years ago of losing weight, which I share in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/2012\/12\/consider-setting-resolutions-or-not\/\" target=\"_blank\">Consider Setting Resolutions \u2013 or Not<\/a>, that I wasn\u2019t always aware of the stage I was currently in.\u00a0 The \u201cgoal\u201d of losing weight was consistently there, it felt like a priority most of the time, and despite these pieces, it wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure I can clearly identify what was missing early on and have the perspective now that we each simply have to find our own path.<\/p>\n<p>I was certainly resistant to using the SMART mnemonic early in my goal of losing weight, so now when I see myself avoiding applying the SMART steps I take a step back and consider if there is some issue with the goal.\u00a0 It often becomes clear that there is a conflict between my goal and the SMART steps.\u00a0 Emotionally I\u2019m trying to ignore that \u2013 after all, I really want to change this; \u201cI don\u2019t want to wait\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Using the SMART criteria means that we take time to work our goal through each step.\u00a0 The idea of taking time for each of the SMART steps can feel daunting \u2013 after all time is a precious commodity \u2013 and who doesn\u2019t wish \u201cif only it were simpler\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019ve been known to make occasional comments about wishing I had a magic wand \u2013 and how I\u2019d share it.\u00a0 Yet, there\u2019s no magic wand and the time we spend on these SMART criteria will only support us in reaching our goals.\u00a0 It\u2019s also important to be focused during the process \u2013 to identify the pieces for each step of the SMART criteria and that all of them are feasible, i.e. just because a single working mom wants to get to the gym 5 days a week doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s realistic for her schedule and the demands on her time.<\/p>\n<p>When we use the SMART criteria, we\u2019re claiming the intention for change clearly.\u00a0 \u00a0The evidence of our commitment is laid out with all the steps and pieces we\u2019ll need to be successful.\u00a0 Even though I feel like a broken record, I\u2019ll say again \u2013 there is no need to feel obligated to set resolutions at this time of year or any time of year, find the timing that works for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the requisite time of year for considering how we want things to be different in the New Year, I continue to stress following your own path even if it doesn\u2019t match calendar traditions \u2013 and considering your goals with the SMART criteria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6],"tags":[10,8,18,9,7],"class_list":["post-1691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holidayhelp","category-personaldevelopment","tag-behavior","tag-discipline","tag-goals","tag-motivation","tag-procrastination"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7p82c-rh","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1691"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1692,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1691\/revisions\/1692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.jenniferlinnig.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}