Goal setting - SMART goals

[Guest guest]

a_smommie - I am so sorry you have been suffering from PTSD.. I hope you

find peace - you deserve it!

You talked about setting goals - here is what I use to set mine:

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind.

-Seneca

Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, R

ealistic, Timely

Specific - A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished

than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six " 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.

*Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the

goal.

EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, " Get in shape. " But a specific goal

would say, " Join a health club and workout 3 days a week. "

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.

To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as......How

much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished?

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.

You can attain most any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and

establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals

that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and

become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and

expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image.

You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and

personality that allow you to possess them.

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. A

high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal

exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever

accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.

Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be

accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to

determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask

yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Timely - A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame

tied to it there's no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when

do you want to lose it by? " Someday " won't work. But if you anchor it

within a timeframe, " by May 1st " , then you've set your unconscious mind

into motion to begin working on the goal.

T can also stand for Tangible - A goal is tangible when you can experience

it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.

When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific

and measurable and thus attainable.