The REBIRTH

Goal Setting the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Way

Goal setting is an essential part of life. We all need goals in order to help illuminate the road to our hopes and our dreams. They help to invoke a more visceral, tangible, and actionable path to what we desire in life. When we write out goals, they become more real. They help us to visually embrace what we want out of life, enabling us to provide some measurable metrics to the progress that we make along the way.

S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goal Setting

This is a mnemonic acronym that can be applied to goals in a way that makes them easier to tackle, which addressed specific, meaningful, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

But, S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal setting takes this two steps further, forcing us to evaluate and readjust our approach. This added sense of measurement and readjustment is critical to the achievement of anything in life. All too often, we tend to set our goals, but not put any type of measurement to them. When we don’t measure and track something, it becomes far easier for the mind to trick us into either putting things off or thinking that we’ve come further along than we really have.

• Step #1: “S” – Specific
  • The first step in setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals is to be specific – very specific. The more specific you are about your goals, the better and more able you’ll be to accomplish them no matter what method you use. This means that you don’t just say you want to make more money or lose more weight, you have to say exactly how much money you want to make or how much weight you want to lose. You have to put a real and exact figure on it. Without specifics, there’s no real target, just some obscure direction. When the goal is obscure, it allows the psychology of your mind to override your goals. Specifics are the fuel in the engine of your goals. You have to provide specifics if you’re going to achieve anything at all. When you write out your goals, be absolutely as specific as possible. And never be afraid to be too specific.

• Step #2: “M” – Meaningful
  • The second step in setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals is to set goals that are meaningful enough to you, this is the “why” in goal setting. When your goals have a deep enough meaning to you, you’ll do whatever it takes to achieve. People don’t want more money because they want more paper with deceased notables on them. No, they want more money because of what that money will bring them: time, freedom, family, security, contribution, and so on. You have to attribute a strong enough meaning to your goals, beyond being just specific about them. So, next to your specific goal, write out what that goal means to you and make sure that it’s something important.

• Step #3: “A” – Achievable
  • The third step in setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals is to set goals that are achievable. Now, there’s certainly a school of thought out there that says that you can accomplish whatever you want, whenever you want it. But, when you’re setting goals, especially when they’re short-term goals (i.e. within 1 year), make sure that they’re achievable. This doesn’t mean that you can’t shoot for the stars in your long-term plans, such as 5 years down the road or even 10 years down the road. It just means that you have to pick goals that you can achieve in the short term. For example, if you’ve never made more than 100,000 in a year, don’t say that you’re going to be a billionaire in the span of one year. Set goals that you can actually achieve so that you build on your momentum. Your short-term goals should be something within your reach, but not so easily attainable that they won’t take much work or effort on your part. This will also help you to build that all-important momentum. Once you achieve your year-long goals, you can broaden those into much greater hopes and dreams down the road.

• Step #4: “R” – Relevant
  • The fourth step in setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals is to set goals that are relevant to your life. This means that the goals should be inline with and in harmony with what you actually want out of life; they should match up with your core values. If your core values are contradicting your goals, then you’ll find yourself merely getting frustrated and giving up. When you set goals that are relevant, you have to dig deep down inside and truly understand what you want out of life. Remember, your goals shouldn’t be designed with the notion of succeeding to be happy, but rather, with happily succeeding. Set goals that are relevant and inline with what you truly want out of life.

• Step #5: “T” – Time-Bound
  • The fifth step in setting S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals is to ensure that they’re time-bound goals. You have to set an exact date on when you plan to achieve these goals. Focus on goals that are in 3-month intervals. If you plan to achieve a 30 kilograms weight loss in one year, then break that down into 3-month intervals. That’s 7.5 kilograms every three months. When your goals are time-bound, they’re measurable, and you should hold yourself accountable by measuring those goals on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. How close are you to achieving your goals? How much further did you get from achieving your goals? Without making your goals time-bound and measurable, you won’t be able to see your progress.

• Step #6: “E” – Evaluate
  • The sixth step in setting goals using the S.M.AR.T.E.R. method is to ensure that your goals are evaluated. By evaluating your goals every single day, you’ll be much more likely to achieve them. Why is that? Well, long-term goals (and also goals that are 3 months or 6 months out), can easily be ignored if they aren’t evaluated every single day. Make sure that you setup a system for evaluating your goals and you make the evaluation of your goals habitual. Don’t ignore this all-important step.

• Step #7: “R” – Readjust
  • The final step in setting goals with the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. method is to re-adjust your approach. If, for example, you find yourself pursuing a goal but continuously hitting a brick wall, readjust your method and techniques. For example, when a plane has a goal of flying from Davao to Manila, it has to constantly evaluate its progress and readjust its approach to ensure that it reaches its target. The plane constantly evaluates and readjusts until it arrives in Manila. You should be doing the same for your goals. Readjust doesn’t mean that you have to throw your goals out and start all over. What it means is that you have to try different approaches until you find yourself getting closer and closer to your goals. That’s why constant evaluation on a daily basis is so important. If you don’t evaluate you can’t measure your progress.

Charting My Journey:

Goals for a Remarkable 2024

1. Reflect on 2023 Goals:
   • At the top of the page, create a bold heading, “Reflecting on 2023 Goals.” List the goals you started or successfully completed during the year.
2. Finance Goals | My Goals:
   • Underline “Finance Goals | My Goals” and dedicate a section to your financial aspirations. This could include saving targets, budget plans, or debt reduction goals.
3. Steps to Reaching my Finance Goals:
   • Outline “Steps to Reaching my Finance Goals” below the finance section. Enumerate specific actions or milestones. Use bullet points and consider adding icons or symbols to represent each step.
4. Health Goals | My Goals:
   • Move on to “Health Goals | My Goals.” Create a visually appealing section for your health-related aspirations, such as fitness achievements, dietary changes, or wellness milestones.
5. Steps to Reaching My Health Goals:
   • Immediately below the health section, list “Steps to Reaching My Health Goals.” Use a numbered list to detail the actionable steps you plan to take. Consider incorporating health-related symbols or illustrations.
6. Career Goals | My Goals:
   • Transition to “Career Goals | My Goals” and create a dedicated space for your professional aspirations. Include targets like skill development.
7. Steps to Reaching my Career Goals:
   • Directly underneath the career section, write “Steps to Reaching my Career Goals.” Use a mix of bullet points and checkmarks to highlight the concrete steps you intend to take in your career journey.
8. Growth Goals | My Goals:
   • Move on to “Growth Goals | My Goals.” Allocate a section to personal development aspirations. This could encompass learning new skills, self-discovery, or expanding your horizons.
9. Steps to Reaching my Growth Goals:
   • Below the growth section, outline “Steps to Reaching my Growth Goals.” Break down the process into actionable steps, and consider using creative visuals such as arrows or pathways.
10. Relationship Goals | My Goals:
    • Transition to “Relationship Goals | My Goals.” Design a section that symbolizes your goals related to relationships, be it family, friends, or romantic partners.
11. Steps to Reaching my Relationship Goals:
    • Finally, conclude with “Steps to Reaching my Relationship Goals.” List the specific actions or initiatives you plan to take to strengthen your connections. Use heart symbols or other relationship-themed visuals.

Closing Note:

Your VP notebook is a personal map for the year 2024. Use colors, symbols, and illustrations to bring your goals to life. No printouts, all written or drawn. Please complete this two days before the activity date, take photos of your personal map and email it to me with the subject line **Screen Name | My Goals for a Remarkable 2024 using your assigned VP GMAIL, and please cc your personal email.

Example: Mich K. | My Goals for a Remarkable 2024

This is your visual journey, so let your creativity shine!