What Are The Best Ways to Set Goals - according to editor of Smarter Living

I think it’s important to recognize a couple of reasons we fail at goals in the first place, because I think the answer to setting good goals is buried in that. We usually set one or two goals, neither of which has a very good chance of success.

You might be setting goals that are completely unreasonable and unattainable. These are the kinds of goals that even in the absolute best conditions and best-case scenarios, you’re not going to achieve. For example: Wanting to lose 100 pounds or write a book are both great resolutions, but are they realistic? Setting unreasonable goals is a simple way of setting yourself up for failure.

The other way we set ourselves up for failure is by trying to have goals that we don’t really believe in. A lot of the time, these take the form of goals that we think society says we should set, like trying to run 20 miles a week. I think being really, really honest and realistic with ourselves about the goals we’re setting is the best thing we can do to actually succeed. Once we have the ideas in mind about what we want to achieve, change or quit, there are practical steps you can take within that goal to maximize your chances for success.

One method I’ve heard a lot about is SMART goals. The acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Start with “specific,” which refers to concrete, clearly defined goals. Instead of saying you want to write a book this year, say you want to write one chapter every month with a certain word count you’re going to hit weekly. This way, you still have your broad goal of writing the book, but you also have (much) smaller doses of success along the road, and also a road map of how to achieve the larger goal.

Then, you have “measurable." Whatever your goal is, you’re going to have ways to measure the progress you’re making. Sticking with the book example, writing 2,000 words a week is a goal in itself. Those small things add up. There’s a lot of research that says “success begets success.” If you think you’ve achieved a certain goal, it can make you more likely to stick with it so you keep achieving goals and getting that reward loop going.

Next, “achievable.” You want to aim high but within reason. Writing a book is probably a stretch goal for anyone, but if you have a plan, it can be within reason. If you say you want to become a novelist this year, that’s probably an unreasonable goal. But writing a book is a little more reasonable.

After that, you want to have a “relevant” goal. Back to what I was saying about setting goals that you actually care about rather than things you think you should care about or things you’re arbitrarily setting just to have a goal.

And, at last, the “T” is, for me, probably the most important: Have a timeline. Saying you want to write a book this year is great, but if you don’t have a timeline with specific dates and deadlines, and things that you should have achieved by those dates, you’re just setting yourself up for failure.

Yes, you can have those huge, lofty, big goals, but you should remember to break those goals down into mini goals and achievements so you can celebrate your wins along the way to achieving that huge, monumental goal. I think is very important to get really comfortable with failure and understanding that failure is part of the process, and not a setback. You learn so much more from failures than when you get things right.