How to Take Your SMART Goals and Kick Them Up a Notch
Let’s get a jump on what’s about to go down in three weeks—new year’s resolutions.
As an online life coach, I’m already doing pushups and getting ready for it. Traffic to this site explodes every January as people seek someone who can help them make the lasting changes they’ve been dying to make for YEARS.
You’re looking at 2022’s rapid approach saying to yourself, “This is it! This is the year!”
You’ve heard of SMART Goals. That idea has been around a while. Let’s beef it up!
Okay, bet.
Let’s make this THE YEAR YOU DO THE THING.
But let’s start now.
Let’s get you ready.
Let’s start with the basics and the mindset you need to MAKE a new years’ resolution that can stick.
I want to start with the basic building block long known as SMART Goals so you can look at your goals differently as you set them. Learn these basics now because I’m about to blow them out of the water later this week.
SMART Goals aren’t enough for everyone, which is why coaches like me exist. I’m here to hold you accountable, hear what motivates you, and then prod you with a shock collar to get you to do it.
Just kidding about that last part. Or am I?
There’s a reason this site isn’t covered in pink stuff, flowers, and the word “babe.” I’m not here to con you into spiritual materialism or any other fluff to put a bandaid on your gaping wounds. I’m here to make a difference and help push you forward when you start to backslide.
Now onto SMART Goals.
I’ve written about them before, so I want you to brush up on what they are and how to make them. Read this blog post (which I just freshly edited) so that you can learn how to make your goals SMART. Making your goals SMART increases your chances of following through on them.
The magic here is that, through all this effort, you benefit.
You get to know yourself better. I want to empower you to realize what your goals are, why they are, where you’ve fallen short in the past, and how to move forward so that you don’t repeat past mistakes.
A preview of what’s to come
I’m planning to deliver a new set of frameworks you can use to get to know yourself better and outline the actions you need to take to make progress.
I want you to get what you want in 2022!
I don’t want you to simply bookmark this site like, “Yeah, I’ll get around to booking with her…”
I want you to take action. I dare you to. I want you to blow past whatever blocks or barriers you’ve hit before. This isn’t the place for “new year, new you,” then you fall off by Valentine’s Day. I want to help you stick to your changes.
Consistency
Once you are familiar with SMART Goals, we’ll move into my first framework. This one starts with consistency. So as you’re sitting down with a pen and paper (or whatever you use) to write down what your SMART Goals are, I want you to ask yourself what you can do CONSISTENTLY.
Consistency is my new favorite personal development tool and obsession.
Last month, I participated in National Novel Writing Month aka "NaNoWriMo." You can read about that here if you’re a writer. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days during November. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Ideally, you write 1,667 words each day of the month to reach the goal. But we all know some days you write 500 words, while on other days, you pull out an intense 3,000. Either way, you cannot complete NaNoWriMo (called “winning” it) unless you write every single day.
Last month was the first time I WON NaNoWriMo! I did it! I hit my 50,000-word goal! Through the process of showing up each day, I rediscovered both my gift and a passion for writing. This was a huge confidence boost!
I also gained the GIFT of consistency.
Waking up to write first thing each day became a treasured routine. My commitment to get up and do that helped me finish my novel. It also allowed creativity to pour through me in a way I hadn’t known before. The novel's characters flowed through me in ways I hadn’t planned. I was truly in the creative flow better than ever! It was all because I created the time and space to be consistent with my writing each day.
Also last month, I developed a consistent daily language learning habit on the Duo Lingo app. Then, I forgot to log in and practice my languages on Day 29 of my streak. I woke up the next morning realizing I’d forgotten to log into Duo Lingo and I was crushed! That streak had felt so good. I was sad to mess it up. Then the app sent an alert telling me I could extend my streak if I completed a hard lesson. So I did! That effort repaired my streak and I'm overjoyed. Now I have a 36-day streak!
The consistency in both these activities helped me create better habits.
I turned two things I wanted to do into consistent practices. Now I’m a better writer and my foreign language skills are improving. My confidence as a writer and foreign language speaker increased. My skills improved. I was having fun!
Need a self-esteem boost? Get consistent with something.
Once I saw the value consistency had brought me, I decided to keep my streaks going. Now, I’m writing 90 pieces of online content in 90 days for my #ContentStorm experiment and still learning languages. In short, consistency is helping me to grow, hold myself accountable, and even meet new people online. I think I even found myself the perfect book coach! (Even coaches need a coach!)
What Comes After Consistency?
Get ready for the next step:
You’re going to take ownership…
MORE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT CONTENT TO READ:
- Review what SMART Goals are here in this blog post.
- When is it OK to “power through” and when is it time to take a break?
- Join the Patreon community for Reiki Practitioners run by Coach & Usui Reiki Master Heather Larson for monthly distance Reiki sessions, monthly 1:1 Distance Reiki Sessions, a podcast for Patrons, Reiki academics, Patron-exclusive blogs, and more!