In my last post I spoke about why using SMART as a goal setting framework isn’t always the best way to go about setting goals. You can read that post again here.
https://merseyside.asentiv.com/theres-more-than-one-way-to-be-smart/
This week I’m going to look at how sometimes it’s more about behaviours than targets.
Goal setting can be a tricky skill to master, indeed if goal setting was easy then everyone who set a goal would achieve it and we know from experience that this just does not happen. One of the reasons for this is people are told to follow the SMART acronym. They are instructed that success in goal setting can only be achieved by having Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time bound goals.
As discussed in my last post SMART was set up specifically for achieving short term organisational goals and over time it has been adapted by some to use for personal goals too, but short and long term. However, you may have tried this before and it didn’t work or resonate with you – don’t worry – it’s not you, it may just be that SMART goal setting just doesn’t work for you. I’ll let you into a secret – it never really worked for me, so I was delighted when working with my mentor he introduced to the concept of having a “foggy vision”.
I first came across “Foggy Vision” way of thinking when working with my own coach Peter Shaw from Scary And Exciting. A foggy vision means you know what you don’t want but you’re not sure what you do want and that you struggle to be specific. With SMART goals people are encouraged to have a clear vision of where they want to go or who they desire to be. This is where SMART falls down for those people who don’t have this vision, so they do one of two things. They either create something and then chase a goal they don’t really want or they get frustrated so they give up and then don’t try to achieve their goals.
What behaviours would you need to succeed?
Another way to achieve goal setting success is to rather than focus on the goal focus on the behaviours required to make a change in your World. For example, let’s say you’d like to be healthier but you cant really define what healthier looks like for you. What you can do is to research the common behaviours that healthy people display.
You could review;
- The best time of day to eat
- The number of meals a day
- Where to get a health check
- Discover new healthier foods
- Exercise regimes that work for them
- Look at meditation/mindfulness exercises
The benefits I gain by focussing on behaviours is that I now have a clearer idea of what version of me I need to demonstrate more of. By focusing on a set of behaviours the focus is always an internal one and not an external one rather than looking to achieve a specific target or goal.
The other benefit of operating from this internal standpoint is that I can be aware of how my current behaviours and way of showing up in the World is taking me towards or taking me away from the behaviours required. I can then be more away of how I need to adjust to stay on track.
I use this way of setting goals to;
- Support my clients for whom SMART just doesn’t work
- For clients looking for longer term change rather than short term specific objective focused goals
- Help them work in a way that actually suits them
So the next time you set a goal remember you don’t have to SMART to be smart!
If you’d like to see how this works in real time and for you then drop me a line.
Here’s to your success!
Dave