SMART GOALS TO TURN HOPES INTO RESULTS

Last week I promised to start on turning hopes into accomplishments by setting SMART goals. SMART goals are making concrete the abstract, setting out clearly what we want as the first steps toward planning the actions that will get us there.

First, for those of you who haven’t run across the SMART goals acronym in school or at work, a goal is SMART if it is  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Here’s why: 

If it isn’t Specific, it will be very difficult to focus on how to get there, if you don’t know exactly where “there” is. Hoping to “do better” at working out gets more focussed when you are specific about a key aspect, such as reducing your marathon time by eight minutes.

If it isn’t Measurable, you won’t be aware of when you are getting warmer, warmer, which means that your strategies are effective, and when you are stalled, which means that you need to adjust your strategies. Also, without measuring, you can kid yourself, either assuming all is well until it is too late, or assuming that all is hopeless, when you are actually making progress. Our marathoner needs to measure, not just to feel that they’re a lot faster (because they’re winded?) or that  they’re too out of shape to have made any progress (again, because they’re winded?). Measuring their run times avoids unrealistic self-evaluation.

If it isn’t Achievable by actions that you can perform with resources you can access, you won’t be able to muster the resources and schedule the actions to the degree that you have set as your goal. This is building in a sense of failure and hopelessness when an unachievable goal isn’t met. Our marathoner may be unrealistic if they are recovering from tendonitis and will be more directed to marathon success over the long term if they consult with their therapist and coach to set out achievable, measurable, specific recovery goals. 

If it isn’t Relevant to hopes that are important to you, you won’t be closer to gaining your hope even if you make the numbers. If our marathoner hopes to qualify in a biathlon (cross-country skiing and target shooting), their marathon times aren’t particularly relevant to that hope. If they hope to qualify for a marathon or a triathlon (running, swimming, cycling) then cutting their marathon time is relevant.

If it isn’t Timely, the goal may eventually be met, but not in time to fulfil hopes. Our marathoner has the deadlines of the dates of the competition. They will be more apt to qualify if they specify by when their time will be reduced by eight minutes.

As the term goes by, any of these elements may change: Deadlines are advanced, relevant course prerequisites are redefined, resources and progress are not as first planned, or how course grades are determined may be changed mid term. These changes may be initiated by you or by others that affect your progress toward your goals. The key is that you review, revise, and adapt, keeping your revisions specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.

Now it’s your turn. This is the first week of class. Sit down and take last week’s list of hopes for the term. Translate them into SMART goals. This should not take more than half an hour. Once you have a week’s classes with the syllabi and instructors’ expectations, you can set SMART goals this weekend for each course.

This week’s focus has deliberately been on a sports illustration. I invite you to apply the same principle to your academic career, as the same principles apply to STEM, Red Seal, Social Science . . . the entire academic calendar of programs.

Final example, again a sport: Check out Simone Biles’ performance last month! From walking away mid-competition at the Olympics in 2020 with the Twisties, last month she gained her eighth national all-round title at the US National Championships. That’s the equivalent of dropping out of your dream program with a 1.4 average, then returning and acing it. 

I’ll be working with a number of clients helping them to do just this, particularly in their self-evaluation of what is realistically achievable for them. Connect with me to work on setting your SMART goals [email protected]

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.