Go miles….on the SMART way!!

Do you ever start your vehicle and take off into the miles without a single clue of where actually you are heading for? Most of the times, No. Until and otherwise you just want to wander about.

Our life is, in a way, like a driving a vehicle. We must know in order to set out for our journey. We must know where we want to land up eventually. We can see around us that many of those who use whimsical approach in their life often lead to nowhere and face the despair later in their life. They are like those fragile flowers attached to the branches which get thrown on the ground mercilessly by a blow of wind. We don’t want to be that poor flower and of course no one want to be.

Often we refuse to plan our life by giving the excuse that life is unpredictable, the fate is what which will plan our future course of action, not us. We sometimes tend to think setting Goals will hinder us to think big like ‘becoming a millionaire by the age of 35’. But we have to understand without planning, we are just heading for our fall on the ground just like that flower.

This analysis will drop us to a point where we wonder that then how to set our goals? How do we set Goals for individual as well as for Team?

The Solution is SMART approach.

SMART refers to Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound.

Let’s further elaborate each of these.

Specific – This means the goal is clear and unambiguous. Expectations form a team must be clear and they should be aware of its importance and relevance. The answers to these five questions help one to address a specific goal:

To set a specific goal you must answer the five “W” questions:

*Who:      Who is involved?

*What:     What do I want to accomplish?

*Where:    Identify a location.

*When:     Establish a time frame.

*Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.

Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.

When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.

 Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.

Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.

Time Bound – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. 

Final words:- SMART approach is really a smart way to set Goals, in turn a key to success.