While the goals you set are important, you need more than grit and determination to achieve them — how you set your goals is critical to your success.
SMART goal setting
SMART goal setting is a strategy that's gained widespread popularity, and it's a tactic that anyone can use. Each goal you set should be SMART: specific, measurable, actionable, rewarding, and time-specific.
Let's look at the example below and apply the SMART goal-setting framework to it.
Goal: Become a leader on your soccer team.
Specific
Being general and ambiguous with your goals won't work in your favor. Be highly specific and pinpoint exactly what you're trying to accomplish. How is your soccer team's leadership structured? In this example, we will select the role of captain as our specific goal.
Measurable
In order to track your progress toward completion, it's important to find a way to measure your goal. Brainstorm what you would need to accomplish to become a good team leader, which could include taking online courses, attending all practices and games, joining a leadership honor society, or exemplifying leadership during events.
Actionable
Your goals should have clear, practical steps. Break them into manageable actions that align with your capabilities and constraints, such as time, resources, and skill levels.
Rewarding
Align your goal(s) with your long-term objectives. Ask yourself if it provides a sense of purpose. Ultimately, consider whether achieving this goal will be rewarding and worth your time and effort.
Time-Specific
Establish a clear timeline with deadlines for each stage of your plan. A defined timeline keeps you accountable and focused, guiding your progress toward the goal within a set period.
Final Goal: I will become a leader on my soccer team by attending extra training sessions each week, improving my fitness, mastering leadership techniques, and actively seeking feedback from my coach and fellow players.
Other goal setting techniques
Write down your goals
Writing your goals out has been a scientifically proven method for increased goal achievement. Many studies have found that those who write down their goals have a higher success rate than those who don't. Start each goal with "I will" and use positive language to encourage action and motivation.
Choose goals that inspire, motivate, and challenge you
When you're spending a lot of time, energy, and effort working toward something, you can quickly lose momentum if you're not excited about it. In addition, completing a challenging goal can feel highly rewarding and can push you to learn, grow, and hone your skills.
Answer the six W's
- Who will your goals involve?
- What are you trying to achieve?
- When do you want to accomplish this goal?
- Where is this goal located?
- Why is this an important goal to you?
- Which resources will you need to use?
Create a plan
The best way to accomplish goals that take a lot of time and effort is to create a step-by-step plan. Break up larger, lengthier goals into smaller, manageable tasks and create a timeline for each task to ensure you're on track for your target date.
Utilize the PACT method
Like the SMART strategy, PACT is another goal setting technique that stands for Purposeful, Actionable, Continuous, and Trackable. PACT is more output-focused than other techniques, which is excellent for long-term goals that require consistent progress.
- Purposeful: Goals with purpose are ones based on the values you have.
- Actionable: Make progress every day without overplanning or overthinking about the future.
- Continuous: Feel free to experiment with your actions as long as you continue to make progress.
- Trackable: Tracking progress keeps you on track and allows you to reflect on how far you've come.
Evaluate your goal-setting process
As with any project, it's essential to take time to evaluate your progress. Examine how you're tracking with each of your goals and identify any blockers stopping you from completing a goal. Self-reflection is a critical part of improving. After accomplishing a goal, think about what went well and what didn't. Take what you've learned and apply it to future goal-setting strategies.