I’ve had a goal for this week’s blog and that was to get clear on setting a goal! Oh my, how many blocks came up for me with this! Surely there’s a right way to set goals!

I started by researching SMART goals. SMART is an acronym which I thought stood for goals that were specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Easy, right? Well, research showed me there was more than one version of the SMART acronym. Here they are side by side:

Specific

Meaningful/Measurable

Adaptive/Achievable

Realistic/Relevant/Results focused

Time bound/Timely/Time line based

eg My credit card will be fully paid by date X.

Other ways I’ve learned suggest things like framing each goal like you’ve already achieved it (eg I am financially free), choosing an end result without worrying about the specifics (eg I choose the end result of being wealthy) and finally there’s setting an intention (eg My intention is to live a debt free life), and of course it must be framed in the positive tense.

So confusing! And so I stepped back and ask “what’s the message I want to share?” Goal setting is unique and personal, there is no right way. It needs only to be meaningful to you and framed in the way that inspires you. That’s it! It may even by that a combination of processes is what gets you to clarify and articulate your goal. If it inspires you to move forward and take action to achieve what it is want to bring about in your life, then it’s the right way for you.

Once clear on the goal, it can be broken down into the various steps of what needs to happen to get there. Each step in itself is a goal, so it seems I will continue to practice goal setting for a while yet!

Need help with getting clear on your goals? Contact me for your free ½ hr strategy session on goal setting clarity.