Happy New Year!
My apologies to those of you who may have read about this in my post on Christian Web Trends yesterday, but I think it’s too good and too applicable not to write about here…
As you would probably guess just by the name of this blog, Live Intentionally, I’m a big proponent of setting goals, that includes annual goals or resolutions.
Michael Hyatt had a fantastic post last week titled How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick in which he pointed out the difference between good resolutions and bad resolutions using a nifty little acronym. It’s so good I’m just going to pilfer it for your benefit.
Good resolutions are S.M.A.R.T.:
- Specific – Goals should identify exactly what you want to accomplish.
- Measurable – Goals should be able to be evaluated with a yes/no or a numerical evaluation.
- Actionable – Every resolution should start with a verb (e.g. “Create,” “Run,” “Eliminate,” “Read”)
- Realistic – A good resolution should stretch you, but still be attainable.
- Time-bound – Every resolution should have a completion date associated with it.
Have you created New Year’s Resolutions or annual goals for 2010? Are they S.M.A.R.T. resolutions?
If not, I hope you’ll make the time to set SMART goals for 2010. It’s one of the most important things you can do to make 2010 your best year yet!
[image by chanc]
I also use SMART for goal setting with the addition that you have to lose the excuses first in order to turn your dreams into reality.
I think sometimes people confuse goals with dreaming or wishful thinking. In my opinion goals are thinks you are serious about accomplishing.
Thanks for reminding everyone to be SMART!
Jaynine, thanks for your comment. Glad to hear you use SMART. I agree there’s a big difference between wishful thinking and taking action to reach a goal. My hope is in 2010 more people will take action to achieve their dreams.