As we mentioned in the last article, goals are an important way to overcome obstacles and transform them into success. Goals are more challenging than you might think, though. Many people are clueless about goal creation and follow-through, making it challenging to overcome obstacles.
In this article, we are going to look at how you should set up goals to overcome your obstacles. These goals can be called SMART goals. Let’s take a look.
SMART Goals
The best type of goals to set are called SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Incorporating all five of these aspects into your goals ensures that they are manageable and that you are capable of achieving them.
A specific goal is one that has one intention in mind. It should be incredibly focused so that you have a specific idea of what you need to accomplish. More than that, the specific goal needs to be measurable. This means that you need to be able to measure whether or not you achieved the goal.
On top of that, it needs to be both achievable and realistic. There is no point in setting a goal that you cannot achieve or that is entirely outside of your capabilities. Finally, set a time frame by which you need to accomplish the goal. This will keep you motivated.
For example, say that the obstacle in front of you is that you need to lose weight. The goal should be to lose 25 pounds in 3 months. This weight loss goal of 25 pounds is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
What If I Can’t Come up With a SMART Goal?
Say that you have been thinking of a SMART goal and keep coming up with nothing. If you find yourself in this situation, you can ask a close friend or family member for advice. They may be able to give you a new perspective that you hadn’t thought of.
If you still aren’t able to come up with a SMART goal, then the chances are that you do not have control of the situation. If you do not have control over it, then there is no way to set a goal to accomplish it. You can set goals to alleviate symptoms of the obstacle, but you can’t guarantee success.
You might run into this problem if your obstacle involves another person. Say your partner wants to leave you, and you don’t want a divorce. Since there is another equally autonomous person involved, you don’t have complete control over the situation. As a result, you might not be able to set SMART goals to guarantee success in the situation.
However, you can come up with SMART goals to help you get through the process or relate to your partner better. Talk through the situation with your partner to try to get on the same page. From there, set goals to lessen the blow. This may involve counseling, focusing on your hobbies, or something else that you have control over.
Follow Through
Your goals are nothing if you don’t follow through with them. Once you set your goals, find a way to motivate yourself to keep working at them. SMART goals are the best way to keep up and stay motivated. Even with SMART goals, however, you have to keep working.
You might want to create rewards for yourself after breaking up the SMART goal into smaller goals or mini-goals. Every time you reach a mini-goal, you reward yourself. This keeps you excited and ready to meet the next mini-goal.
Commit yourself. Many people set goals, but they don’t actually commit to it. Ensure that you follow through by not giving yourself the chance to slack. Just as you would hold someone else accountable for fulfilling their commitments, hold yourself accountable as well.
Be Flexible
When talking about goals, we would be amiss not to mention flexibility. When most people set goals, they are very rigid and refused to bend. This is almost a guaranteed way to fail and not overcome your obstacle. Instead, you need to be flexible, even when it comes to goals.
Sometimes, plans change, the obstacle changes or your priorities change. When this happens, you have to be able to shift your focus and goals to reflect this occurrence. If not, the goals will be disconnected from where you are in life. Too rigid goals are bound to break eventually.
Instead of viewing goals as something rigid, view them as fluid. Be rigid in following through with your goals but be willing to change them if you need to. Whenever the plans change, flexible goals will bend with the pressure instead of breaking.
Recap
Goals help you achieve your obstacles. Set SMART goals to keep you motivated and more likely to turn your obstacles into success. Though you will need to commit to yourself and hold yourself accountable, goals are really the only way not to get destroyed by your own obstacles.
