(excerpted from Jim Rohn’s One Year Success Plan)

Jim Rohn’s Second Pillar of Success: Goal Setting Part Three – SMART Goals

Hello, this is Jim Rohn. As you know, this month we are focusing on the second pillar of success: goal setting.

We have introduced the four main components of goal setting:

1. Evaluation and Reflection.

The only way we can reasonably decide what we want in the future, and how we will get there, is first to know where we are now, and second, how satisfied we are with where we are in life. As we focus this month on goal setting, our first order of business and theme two weeks ago was evaluation and reflection.

2. Dreams and Goals.

What are your dreams and goals? It is not related to the past or what you think you can get, but what you want. Have you ever sat down and thought about your life values ​​and decided what you really want? This is not something that someone else says you should have or what the culture tells us successful people do or have. These are the dreams and goals that are born from your own heart and mind. These are the goals that are unique to you and come from who you were created to be and gifted to be. Last week we showed you exactly how to figure out what you want out of life.

3. SMART goals.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Temporary.

Specific: Don’t be vague. What exactly do you want?

Measurable: quantify your goal. How will you know if you have succeeded or not?

Achievable: Be honest with yourself about what you can reasonably achieve at this point in your life, as well as taking into account your current responsibilities.

Realistic: It has to be feasible, real and practical.

Time: Associate a time frame with each goal. When should you complete the goal?

We’ll spend time this week looking at how to apply the SMART test to your goals to make sure they’re as powerful as possible!

4.Responsibility.

Think about the word “responsible.” It means “to realize”. When someone knows what your goals are, they help you hold yourself accountable. Whether it’s someone else going through this program with you (have you thought about inviting a friend along on this year-long journey?) or just someone you can give the basic idea to, having someone who can hold you accountable give you another extra boost to achieve your goals! Next week we’ll show you how to set up a responsible partner.

This week we will discuss item 3 – SMART Goals.

SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Temporary.

I really like this acronym SMART, because we want to be smart when we set our goals. We want to decide intelligently what our goals will be so that we can actually achieve them. We want to set goals that our hearts conceive, our minds believe, and our bodies will carry out. Let’s take a closer look at each of the components of SMART goals:

Specific: Goals are not a place to waste time. They are not a place to be lazy. Ambiguous goals produce ambiguous results. Incomplete goals produce incomplete futures.

When we are specific, we harness the power of our dreams and put into action the forces that enable us to achieve our goals. So we know exactly what we are looking for. There is no question. As we set our priorities and manage our time, we do so with a specific goal to achieve the results we expect. There are no doubts or guesses. The future is locked in our minds and we see it, specifically, and that’s powerful! Never underestimate how important it is to have very specific and concrete goals. They act like magnets that draw you towards them! A SMART goal is specific.

Measurable: Always set goals that are measurable. I would say “specifically measurable” to take into account our principle of being specific as well. Our goals should be such that we know when we are progressing and how much. Whether it’s by hours, pounds, dollars, or whatever, we should be able to see exactly how we’re measuring up as we go through life’s journey using our goals. Can you imagine if you didn’t measure your goals? You would never know which way you are going or even if you are going anywhere! A SMART goal is measurable.

Achievable: One of the detrimental things that many people do, and they do it with good intentions, is setting goals that are so high that they are unattainable. Yes, it’s very important to set big goals that make your heart soar with excitement, but it’s also imperative to make sure they’re achievable. In the next section we talk about being realistic. So what does it mean to be possible? An achievable goal is one that is both realistic but also achievable in a shorter amount of time than you have to work on. Now, when I say possible, I don’t mean easy. Our goals must be set so that they are out of our reach; so they will challenge us to grow as we move towards achieving them. After the next paragraph, I’ll give you an example of a goal that is both achievable and realistic. A SMART goal is achievable.

Realistic: The root word for realistic is “real.” A goal has to be something that we can reasonably make “real” or a “reality” in our lives. There are some goals that just aren’t realistic. You have to be able to say, even if it’s a tremendously broad goal, that yes, in fact, it’s completely realistic, that you could achieve it. You may even have to say that x, y, and z will be needed to do it, but if that happens, then it can be done. This is by no means to say that it shouldn’t be a great goal, but it should be realistic. This largely depends on the individual. For one person a goal may be realistic, but for another unrealistic. I encourage you to be very honest with yourself when doing your planning and evaluation. Perhaps it would be good to have a friend help you (as long as that friend is by nature an optimist and not a pessimist). This can go a long way in helping you know what is realistic. A SMART goal is realistic.

Example of Achievable and Realistic: Knowing that maybe you could use some help differentiating between achievable and realistic, here’s an example: You are overweight and have 150 pounds to lose to get to your own weight. Is that goal achievable? Yes, considering that you also make it realistic. For example, it is not realistic to think that you can do it in 5 months. 18-24 months would be realistic (with hard work). Therefore, losing 150 pounds in 2 years is achievable and realistic, while losing 150 pounds in 5 months is neither achievable nor realistic.

Time: Each goal should have a time frame attached to it. I think that life itself is much more productive for us as humans because there is a time frame attached to it. Can you imagine how much procrastination there would be on earth if people never died? We would never get to “do it”. We can always postpone it. One of the powerful aspects of a great goal is that it has an end, a time in which you are shooting to achieve it. You start working on it because you know it has an end. As time goes by you work because you don’t want to fall behind. As he gets closer, he works diligently because he wants to meet the deadline. You may even have to split a big goal into different time frames of measured parts. Alright. Set smaller goals and work them out in your own time. A SMART goal has a timeline.

Be sure to spend some time in reflection this week to make sure your goals fit within the SMART parameters. Review the following reflection questions and the action items associated with them. Doing so will put a real motor into your goals and charge them with power to help you achieve your dreams.

Until next week, let’s do something extraordinary!

jim rohn