SMART Goals Provoke Action

  ‘Rakesh bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Rahul has no plans for his life.’

‘Really?’ smiled Rakesh. ‘It’s like walking blindfolded and hoping to end up someplace nice, isn’t it? More chances of a crash though.’

‘I have plans,’ said Rinku. ‘Get a good job, and be successful.’

‘Me too bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘Be rich. CEO types.’

‘Good. But you need to know how to set goals properly to make your dreams come true.’

‘What’s wrong with our goals bhaiyya?’ they asked.

‘They are more ‘hopes’ than goals,’ said Rakesh. ‘They do not provoke action. A good goal motivates, inspires and drives action. There’s a simple way to set goals properly called setting SMART goals. Setting SMART goals dramatically improves your chances of achieving your goals, big or small.’

‘What’s that bhaiyya?’

‘A SMART goal satisfies the following conditions – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. Start with ‘Specific’. Do you have a clear picture of your goal? A name, a number, a visual? ‘Specific’ goals help you to clearly comprehend the challenge that lies ahead and to prepare accordingly. For example ‘successful’, ‘rich’, ‘CEO’ are not specific enough. Whereas 10 million rupees, CEO of a top 10 company are specific. A different preparation is required to earn 1 million and 100 million, for being CEO of your own firm and a top 10 firm. It takes courage and clarity to set a clear, specific goal.’

‘Wow, never realized the importance of being specific,’ said Rinku.

‘M is measurable’ said Rakesh. ‘Define your goals in measurable terms – a rank, bank balance, people influenced... whatever works for you. For example, rich is not measurable, 10 million is. When a goal is measurable, you can monitor and improve your effort.’

‘Measurable goals have a number then,’ said Rahul.

‘Yes,’ smiled Rakesh. ‘A stands for ‘Achievable’. If your goal appears unachievable to you, your mind gives up and you take no action. But when you feel the goal is achievable, you will dedicate purposeful, sustained action and achieve it. An achievable goal stretches, tantalizes, pushes you to work for it.’

‘Oh,’ said Rahul. ‘I wanted to be the President of the USA. That’s out then.’

‘I think so,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘Your goal should be ‘Relevant’ to your overall objectives. Random goals scatter your energies and focus. Chances of achieving irrelevant goals are low.’

The two nodded.

‘Finally, ‘T’ stands for time bound. Time bound goals force you to plan and execute efficiently. A goal of losing 2 kgs is different from losing 2 kgs in 2 weeks right? Clearly the second goal has more chances.’

‘SMART goals make sense,’ said Rinku. ‘I’ll set SMART goals from now.’

‘My goal was to study ‘well’,’ said Rahul. ‘Now it’s securing 80%.’

‘That’s SMART,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘Let’s all order masala chai right now, instead of hoping for a hot beverage.’

Pro tip: A specific, challenging goal drives you to prepare well towards achieving it through sustained, purposeful action. A picture of your goal on the wall will help.

 

Exercise: Write two goals - personal and academic - for this semester using the SMART goal method – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable and Time bound. Share your goals with a partner and check if they have written it down as per the SMART method.

Share goals for your semester..

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