Summary

The author describes how applying the SMART framework to goal setting transformed their life by providing clarity, focus, and a structured approach to achieving personal milestones, exemplified by successfully planning a wedding within budget and time constraints.

Abstract

The article recounts the author's personal experience with the SMART goal-setting framework, emphasizing its effectiveness in turning vague dreams into achievable and fulfilling objectives. The author illustrates this transformation by comparing a broad aspiration to get married with a detailed SMART goal that includes specifics such as location, budget, and timeline. The SMART goal approach is credited with not only the successful realization of the wedding but also with fostering a methodical planning process that concluded with a surplus budget and no unforeseen issues. The author underscores the importance of SMART goals in providing direction, purpose, and a mechanism for evaluating progress, thereby enhancing the likelihood of success and personal growth. The article outlines the five components of SMART goals—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound—and discusses the benefits of using this framework to prioritize tasks, make informed decisions, and distinguish between realistic targets and wishful thinking. The author also shares a list of their own SMART goals achieved over the past year, demonstrating the versatility and impact of this approach on various aspects of life, from fitness to financial investments and career development.

Opinions

The author believes that SMART goals are a key ingredient to success, providing a clear understanding of what one is working towards.
They express that without SMART goals, individuals may lack direction and purpose, potentially ending up somewhere they did not intend to be.
The author emphasizes that SMART goals help individuals become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, aiding in decision-making and prioritization.
They suggest that SMART goals are not just about setting objectives but also about understanding one's capabilities and limitations.
The author opines that the process of setting SMART goals, though potentially tedious, is crucial for personal accountability and visualizing the path to success.
They advocate for the importance of passion in driving SMART goals, as it makes motivation easier to find and encourages individuals to push themselves harder.
The author encourages readers to adopt SMART goal setting to elevate their lives, indicating a strong personal belief in the effectiveness of this framework.

How Setting SMART Goals Changed my Life!

Make your goals SMART and lead a meaningful and fulfilling life.

It was one of those lazy summer afternoons of June 2019, when I came across the SMART framework for goal setting, and immediately, I rewrote my biggest dream.

My dream used to look like

I will get married to my girlfriend by the end of this year

To a SMART goal that looked like

I will have an intimate beach wedding with my girlfriend in the presence of close family members in Mexico, in November 2019 within an all-encompassing budget of 20,000 USD.

Do you see the difference?

And guess what happened on November 24th, 2019?

Voila!!!

To my surprise, my girlfriend and I were so methodical in our planning with a laser-like focus that we achieved this goal with a thousand bucks to spare and nothing untoward happened.

Clearly, one of the key ingredients of being successful is SMART goal setting. SMART goals are important results that you strive to achieve in a specific period which directly contributes to your overall goals. In daily life, setting SMART goals motivate you and are designed in a way to promote a clear understanding of how high the bar needs to be set. SMART goal setting is a procedure that helps you turn the vision of an ideal future into reality.

Setting SMART goals means having five key components:

Specific — Be clear and direct with a narrow focus.
Measurable — There should be a way to evaluate progress.
Attainable — They are reasonable/possible to achieve and something to work towards
Relevant — Answer why the goals are being set and how they are going to contribute to success?
Time-Bound — They should be accomplished within a specific time limit.

But, why do we need SMART goals in our life? Because with vague goals you don’t have a purpose and direction and you may not end up where you want to be. You don’t want to work towards a goal that you cannot achieve or will get nothing out of. Trust me, the benefits are real and significant as SMART goals make you aware of your strengths and weaknesses and serve as an important criterion for decision making. They will force you to set priorities and help you differentiate between reality and wishful thinking. And, finally, they will make you responsible and help you visualize the road to success.

Setting SMART goals is easy, it's not rocket science. We just need to follow some basic steps:

First, we need to brainstorm ideas as thinking of something you want to achieve, is paramount.
Second, choose a few specific ideas out of a list of brainstormed ideas that seem plausible to you.
Third, for each of the chosen ideas, create a plan of action/roadmap to achieve the objectives, and don’t forget to set a deadline to achieve them.
Fourth, we need to put the plan into action and make sure to follow through the decided roadmap.
Finally, you always want to check on the progress made.

Keep in mind that setting SMART goals is not a trivial task. You may presume to understand what you think SMART goals maybe but the journey from conceptualization to fruition is quite difficult. The process can be tedious but it's important not to get discouraged and stay the course.

With that said, here are some of the SMART goals I have achieved over the past year:

Do weight training with dumbbells at home 2hrs a day, 5 days in a week for 3 months.
Earn a minimum of 15% return on investment of 15,000 USD in stocks over a period of 6 months
Build AWS Cloud skills, by pursuing an online course and do an industry-based project to showcase skillset acquired, in 3 months.
Explore 5 scenic places around Toronto at least one-hour drive away in 2 months.

In conclusion, I make sure my SMART goals are driven by a passion of mine. I have observed that when my passion fuels my goals, finding motivation is a lot easier and I tend to push myself harder. SMART goal setting has taken my life to the next level. Therefore, I really encourage you, to go ahead and start making SMART goals.

Archit is a Data Scientist and has started writing blogs recently to share his love for Data Science, Mentoring, and Stock Market Investing. Feel free to follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and join his group for new bloggers on Facebook. Lets Connect !!!