How Really "SMART" People Achieve Goals

Perhaps you’ve already made your New Year’s Resolutions, and perhaps you’re still thinking about making your New Year’s Resolutions.  Perhaps you’ve already made the New Year’s Resolution to give up making New Year’s Resolutions!   Most resolutions are broken by January 4th…which happens to be World Hypnosis Day!  What a coincidence! 

If you’re thinking about setting a New Year’s Resolutions for yourself, AKA “A Goal,” then please read on about how you can crush your goal this year.

First of all, there is one way to measure whether you’ve set a good goal for yourself.  It’s called “SMART.”  SMART goals are:

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Achievable

R = Relevant

T = Time Bound

Let’s say you want to use SMART for weight loss, and you want to lose 25 lbs.

Is losing 25 lbs. SPECIFIC?  Yes.  25 lbs. is a specific goal.

Is it MEASURABLE?  Yes.  If you hop on the scale, you can tell whether or not you’ve lost 25 lbs.

Is it ATTAINABLE?  If you weigh 26 lbs - this may not be attainable.  If you weigh 226 lbs, this may be perfect for you depending on your height.

Is it RELEVANT?  To be relevant, the goal you set needs to be relevant to the specific thing you are trying to improve.  I’d say yes, losing 25 lbs is relevant.

Is it TIME BOUND?  No.  There is no time limit on this goal.  Let’s say you want to lose 25 lbs in one week.  Now this goals is TIME BOUND, but it knocks itself out of ATTAINABLE.

If your goal is to lose 25 lbs by June 1st of 2023 - now you have a SMART goal.  It is Specific, Measurable, Relevant, and Time Bound.

However, I personally don’t think SMART goals are enough.  SMART goals are technically perfect goals, but they lack passion, desire, and emotion.  SMART goals don’t activate the imagination.  There is no burning desire to achieve a SMART goal.  There is no compelling reason WHY you desire to achieve this goal.  A goal itself is not compelling enough to act on.  If you want to take your goal to the next level, then we have to dig deep!  We need to find out why you MUST achieve this goal.

Why do you want to lose 25 lbs?

Why do you REALLY want to lose 25 lbs?

Why do you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st, 2023?

You have to put some emotion into your WHY.

“I want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st BECAUSE…I want to be healthy.”

I want to be healthy” is a great reason to lose weight, but it doesn’t tug at the heart strings.  It’s a logical reason, but humans are not logical creatures.

“I want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st BECAUSE I don’t want to be an insulin dependent diabetic.”

Not that has some emotional juice to it!  Being an insulin dependent diabetic begins to strike fear into your heart.  Fear is a powerful motivator.

Keep going…

“I want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st BECAUSE I’m attending my high school reunion and I don’t want my old classmates to see me like this.”

“I want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st BECAUSE I don’t feel good about myself, I’m tired of how I look, and want to keep up with my children/grandchildren.”

“I want to lose 25 lbs by June 1st BECAUSE I want to be able to tie my shoes without having to hold my breath.”

And so on, and so on.

Challenge yourself to find 25+ reasons why a goal is worthy of achieving.  If you can come up with 25 reasons…you know this goal is worthy of your time and effort.  You got some emotional skin in the game!

But is that enough to achieve a goal?  Maybe, but we can always kick it up a notch!

Take a moment or two, and imagine what being 25 lbs less would LOOK like.  What would you see?  What would you feel?  What would you experience being 25 lbs less?

If I was 25 lbs less, I’d see myself playing with my children/grandchildren.  I’d take them to the zoo, and I wouldn’t be tired when I was done.

If I was 25 lbs less, I’d be back in my favorite pair of jeans.  I’d be proud of how I look, and I’d feel more confident and sexy.

If I was 25 lbs less, my bloodwork would be back in the normal ranges.  I would not have to inject myself with insulin.  

If I was 25 lbs less, I’d be happier, and I’d be more attractive to the opposite sex / my partner / my spouse.

But is that enough?  Nope!  You got a little more work to do.

Olympic athletes didn’t train for the Olympics in one day and said “Whew!  All done!  Glad that’s over with.”  Achieving a goal that’s worthy requires putting in effort EVERY DAY.  If your goal is truly worth going for, budget the appropriate time each day for yourself to make sure you work toward it.  Plan your meals.  Exercise.  Stretch.  Set up a schedule.  Create a plan, and start getting excited about how your life is going to change!  Imagine yourself AFTER you’ve achieved your goal and beyond.  If you can see yourself with that goal accomplished, your unconscious mind will begin to align itself with what you’re thinking about.

Find the fire in your soul and fan the flames of desire!   If you can tap into your emotions and get to the real reason of WHY you want to achieve a goal…you will be unstoppable!