Setting and managing goals is a huge part of fulfilling your vision and life purpose, mama! And to set effective goals, you’ve gotta have a process. So let’s jump in and learn how to set SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

1. Specific,
2. Measurable,
3. Achievable,
4. Relevant, and
5. Time-bound.

1. SMART Goals Are SPECIFIC

The more specific the better! What exactly do you want to accomplish?! Making more money or losing weight are not specific goals. You could make $1 more or lose 1/2 a pound and you would have reached your goal, right? So get all those details in! To help you specify your goals, you can answer these questions – who, what, when, where and why.

2. SMART Goals Are MEASURABLE

This is about the metrics you’ll use to determine your progress and to see if change is actually happening.  Remember, we set the goals, but we have to be able to measure progress to know that we’re moving in the right direction and at the pace expected. So set a number or create a scale so you can measure your progress. For example, making $5,000 per month in an online business is measurable. Earning a 20 percent pay increase is measurable. Losing 20 pounds of weight or gaining 20 pounds of weight is measurable.

And when you’re tracking your progress, you really want to be looking for trends! Is progress being made towards the goal and that trends move in the right direction at the expected pace?

3. SMART Goals Are ACHIEVABLE

You have to ask yourself, is your goal realistic? Can it actually be achieved? Expectancy Theory states that we’re motivated to choose a specific behavior because of what we expect the result to be. So if we don’t really believe we can achieve the goal, it’s going to be really hard for us to find the motivation to follow through.

4. SMART Goals Are RELEVANT

The goal has to matter to YOU by being part of your vision, values, and overall plan for your life.

5. SMART Goals Are TIME-BOUND

Our human brains need end-dates! So keeping our goals time bound helps to motivate us and keeps us accountable with a little healthy pressure and urgency.

THE LADDER OF SUCCESS

After we’ve used this framework to write our SMART goal, the next step is to break down the goal into smaller stages or steps. Think of it like a ladder with 7 rungs. You can’t just grab the top rung of the ladder; if there was only a top rung, then it would not be reachable or achievable!

• You already did the first rung on the ladder to success, which is to identify your SMART goal.
• The second rung of the ladder to success is to list the benefits of achieving your goal.
• The third rung is to make a list of the obstacles that could hinder your efforts to anticipate and plan for them before they appear so that you are mentally prepared to face them.
• In the fourth step, we are going to identify what you will need to be successful, both your team, knowledge, etc.
• The fifth rung of the ladder to success is to identify the groups and people you need to work with. By identifying the groups and people you need to work with, you’ll have a list to contact, a group to join, or a support or resource network to lean on.
• The sixth rung on the ladder to success is to develop a plan of action.
• The seventh rung is to set deadlines. And if you’ve set SMART goals, it’s already time-bound so you’ve already done this. This means that the deadline is already part of the goal. Setting a deadline is the easiest task in one sense, but it requires a lot of honesty and realistic thought.  

Which goals are you working toward?! Let us know in the comments below!