A goal is an idea, or the desired result of an action or plan, typically with a deadline.  

Goals can be massive and vague, such as “get rich”, or small and specific such as “drink 8 oz of water before my morning coffee.”  

Goals often come about because we recognise something we want to change in our lives, and we understand that if we set a goal, we are more likely the achieve our desired change. However, as I am sure many of us can relate, it can be incredibly difficult to achieve goals, and there are many times when they become long-forgotten desires.   

One of the most common reasons we fail at achieving goals is because we set vague or unrealistic goals. Which leaves us with minimal ability to make the changes or take actions that will move us towards our goal. Successful goals need to be well developed, framed within a positive mindset, and be a challenge that you are committed to undertaking with a plan of action.

SMART goal setting is a method that can help you create criteria to improve your chances of succeeding and accomplishing your goal.

SMART goals stand for goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. Breaking goals into these aspects can help you analyse and set goals within your abilities.  

To demonstrate the process of setting a SMART goal, let’s work through the goal of “getting fit.” 

SPECIFIC: Get specific on what “getting fit” means to you. Ask yourself the following questions to formulate your goal.  

In this example, let’s use the goal of being able to run 2 km without stopping to walk.

• What do you want to accomplish? – Be able to run 2 km without stopping to walk.  
• What do you need to do this? – Running shoes, time, and a place to run safely.  
• When do you want to do this? – In 6 weeks.  
• Why is this a goal? – I have always wanted to run a marathon, and this is a small step in that direction.

Being able to run 2 km without stopping to walk may not be a proxy for being fit. However, it is a specific element of exercise and fitness that can be broken down into small pieces. Thus, it is an achievable goal tied to a larger goal or ambition, such as running a marathon.  

MEASURABLE: What metrics will you use to determine if you can meet your goal or if you have met your goal? Using a metric to measure the progress of your goal makes your efforts more tangible and can keep you motivated as you tick off your progress.  

For example, for our goal of running 2 km without stopping within a 6-week time frame, we could set milestones of achievement that will help measure our progress towards our goal.

If we have 6 weeks to achieve our goal, we could break down the 2 km into 1-week blocks, where we build upon the distance run each week without walking. A simple way to do this would be to divide the 2 km by 6 and build your endurance to run this distance the first week without walking, then work your way week by week until you are running a full two km.  

ATTAINABLE: Dreaming big and setting ambitious goals for your life benefits your overall wellbeing. However, you need to develop more achievable goals to help keep you on track with these big goals. If you start with small goals and see early wins and progress, you will be more likely to feel encouraged, which will help you stick to accomplishing your larger goals.

In this example, running 2 km is an achievable goal that can be broken down and accomplished by building endurance over a 6-week period.  

This attainable goal serves a larger ambition of running a marathon. By accomplishing it, you would be more likely to set larger goals of greater distances that could eventually lead to being able to run that 42.20 km marathon.  

RELEVANT: Here, relevance means choosing a goal that makes sense within the broader context of your life.  

This can be tricky to consider, as setting goals requires a degree of challenge and change that may be a little outside your comfort zone.

Relevance for pursuing a fitness goal could be considered through the lens of enjoyment and how you have found you enjoy spending time doing physical activities. For example, if you love being outside and have previously enjoyed running, then running 2 km would be a relevant goal for you and would fit into your life.   

TIMING: Time-constrained goals create a healthy amount of pressure to keep you motivated. Deadlines must be comfortable and allow you adequate time to achieve your goal. When setting a deadline, you will want to consider what you are aiming for and reflect on the time you have to make it happen over the coming weeks and months.  

Can you think of any major events or obstacles that might interfere with your ability to meet your goal? A busy time at work means you will have less time to go on runs for a few weeks, which means it will be unlikely you can meet your 6-week goal. Think ahead and take into account any times like these and adjust your timeframe accordingly. 

SMART goal setting can be used for any type of goal, big or small. As we approach the close of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, we are often prompted to take stock of our lives and consider where we want to make changes. Suppose you recognise things in your life that you would like to change. In that case, I encourage you to approach these changes with kindness and compassion and consider applying the SMART goal-setting method to formulate achievable and measured goals.  

Download this SMART goal-setting worksheet to help guide your goal-setting process. 

Happy goal-setting!