As I prepared to set my own goals for the year, I looked around to see what a few other people were doing. It was interesting to see the many differences in SMART goals.
SMART is a great tool that helps you set goals that are immune to self-sabotage, fear, and procrastination. It helps you break down your goals into manageable chunks that are realistic and achievable. Below is an example of a weight loss goal.
Ali Brown, Founder and CEO of Ali International LLC, mentioned adding an active aspect to the goal-setting process in her podcast and I totally agree with her.
Everything is the energy of the “thing(s) you want to manifest” already here in active form and it is your belief and your actions that bring it into your experience.
The first dream
What do you want? Play some inspiring music, take a pad and a pen and write down all the things that come to mind. Don’t judge or edit, let your imagination run free and just write it down. **Disclaimer: I’m sure this goes without saying, but of course you don’t want to wish something like your friend’s wife or anything that would only hurt someone else.
Now, know that if these desires appeared in your heart, you were meant to experience them. So allow yourself to believe that you can do it and have it.
Next, take this list and put your items into categories and choose 1 for the activity below.
Smart Goal Plus
SMART goals are great but AIM SMART goals are even better. Here’s a short and sweet one:
A – acceptable minimum “- What is the minimum that can be done or that you accept?
I – perfect What’s it like if you could have exactly what you want, what would it be?
m – middle ” What is the realistic stretch for you? Take what you can and stretch yourself. Or what is the middle of your acceptable and ideal goals?
S – selector what do you want exactly? Or what exactly is the first step/action you need to take?
m – measurable What is the quality or quantity that you want?
A – achievable Is this goal feasible or is the step/action feasible?
R – Reasonable Would you do this How reasonable would you do this?
T – time When will you reach this goal (the entire goal) or complete the first step (not the entire goal)?
Examples
- Goal: I want to lose weight. It’s very mysterious. how much weight? before when?
- Smart goal. I want to lose 30 lbs in 6 weeks for my high school reunion.
a – The minimum I want to lose is at least 1 pound per week.
I – My ideal would be to lose 5 pounds a week.
M – A realistic stretch for me would be 3lbs a week.
s – lose 30 lbs
M – in 6 weeks
a – It is possible to lose this weight through healthy eating and exercise.
s – It makes sense for me to lose weight because I have a lot of weight on my body and I will continue to do so.
T – Its 6 weeks before my high school reunion.
See how easy that is. You can do this for every goal you have including the healthy eating and exercise goals to accompany the SMART GOAL above. I intentionally wrote the above objective in a simple way but it could be made more detailed.
** This tool is excellent and also ideal for setting goals step by step.
What AIM SMART goals do you have for yourself? How will AIM SMART help you set and reach your goals?