Why SMART Goals Suck

​You know the ones, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely (or similar variations). So why do they suck when 'everyone' is telling us it is a great tool to get things done, to put them on the achieved pile?

Well it has been a while since I posted a blog and since it is that funny time of year between Christmas and New Year I thought now would be a good time to get some of my plans for 2017 underway. I hope you all had and are still to have a lovely festive season spending some quality time with not just your friends and family but with yourself.

---

​And what I mean by that is that I hope you have taken some time out to reflect on your successes and ponder on your aspirations, what you want out of life. I find this is often a good time to do that, just before the onslaught of the new year comes round a slaps you firmly back into the daily routine of keeping your business running.

[Enter the title of this article...] And is why I wanted to bring up SMART goals. You know the ones, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely (or similar variations). 

So why do they suck when 'everyone' is telling us it is a tool to get things done, to put them on the achieved pile?

​Because they do not inspire you to greatness, they don't push the limits or boundaries of what you think can be achieved! Now don't get me wrong, these types of goals are great for ticking boxes and measuring progress, but they are really bad for figuring out what success looks like for you. And often people at this time of the year limit themselves to what they believe is achievable in the next 2-3 years.

Tony Robbins once said in an interview that the average person overestimates what they can do in a week but underestimates what they can accomplish in years - I think that is so true.

When the Write Brothers wanted to fly, I somehow don't imagine that dream fitting neatly into a timely and acheivable goal, same with sending people to the moon. When the first Pharoah that decided he wanted a pyramid as a tomb first had the idea (or whoever it was) I don't think he started out with what might be acheivable, he started out with a vision, admittedly I am sure that he then just gave the vision to a bunch of clever people and told them to figure it out, but my point is that unless we allow ourselves to dream beyond the possibilities of today we will continue to limit ourselves to just what we are able to acheive today.

And yet if you look back over your life how much more are you able to accomplish now, then say 2, 5 or 10 years ago. Heck when we were 18 months I bet walking and running was a big acheivement, and now look at what you can do?

The word Yet is extremely powerful...

​We change, we grow, we learn, we progress - so don't think about what can be achieved within today's limitations. And this brings me to a very powerful idea, or should I say word that Carol Dweck is often found in her public speaking to promote, and that is the word 'YET!'

When we say that we can't do something it sounds very negative and dis-empowering. If we then add the word yet to say that we can't do something yet, suddenly that becomes extremely empowering. 

No we don't know how to do lots of things, but we can learn an awful lot that will help us get to where we want to be.

(This image links to the book on Amazon, if you care to get yourself  copy I will be doing a book review the end of January, sort of an online book club. My New Years resolution is to read one inspiring / insightful book a month, but I plan to write a seperate post on that one)

---

Ok so if not SMART goals then what?

DUMB goals, that's what you want! ... at least first anyway. You need a Dream-driven, Uplifting, Motivational, Bodacious / Behaviour driven. This is what is needed first to create the emotional connection that creates your motivation to actually do something, it will become your inspiration!

So what do you really want out of life? And I don't mean necessairly what specific income or level or professional acheivement but rather what are the qualities of life you want to experience, what are the values that you hold dear? Is it excitement, freedom, security, connection...? 

This can be the first step to figuring out the direction of where you would really like to take your business, once you know what values and experiences are important you can then start to look in more detail on how a 'good day' might look for you before asking how would you like your business to support that life.

Once you are able to visualise or feel in more detail what success means to you, you can then start to break it down into goals and eventually SMART goals - Yes they do have their place, just not right at the start of the big picture process.

It is people's dreams that have changed lives, changed the world. So to get you started on this exhilerating journey if you haven't already I shall leave you with the question - What are your Day Dreams about?

If you would like to chat about how you can take your business to the next level please contact me directly via Facebook, LinkedIn or my contact form on JoSeawright.com

Partial Image Credits -  ... Goals ... Grass-Bokeh - FreePik is great for finding and creating images