New Approach overtaking S.M.A.R.T. Goals

More Workers are making goals that are Flexible, Uplifting, and Numberless

S.M.A.R.T. goals have reigned supreme within the lexicon of American self-help and professional development circles, to the point that the concept is ubiquitous within learning and workplace environments. Most of us have heard about this approach since grade school. Still, if you’re like me, you’ve always felt a little hesitant to fully commit to making Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely goals your default approach.?

As someone who often asks, "where is the humanity in this?", I was excited to come across a new approach to goal setting championed by author and disability rights advocate Emily Ladau (@emily_ladau). The equity advocate offered an approach she calls “F.U.N. goals.“ F.U.N. goals are flexible, uplifting, and numberless and aim to center our humanity and joy while pursuing our goals. Curious? Me too. Let’s dive deeper to explore the potential benefits of this approach.?

Flexible

When I hear flexibility, I think of Bend it like Beckham, the cult British 2002 rom-com, or Gumby, the iconic clay animation character. But for those of us who don’t think in cultural references, flexibility can be described as the opposite of rigidity, which extolls the benefits of choosing one approach and sticking with it. A lot of us implicitly associate goals with decision-making and decision-making with commitment. The idea that flexibility has a role in pursuing a goal can seem perplexing. Let’s see if an example can help counter this association.?

Let’s say you aim to read more books this year; good for you. This goal is pretty well-defined because you know the number of books you read last year, and you want to increase that number this year. But there’s flexibility baked in, too, because you haven’t defined how much more you’ll read, which could bog you down with deciding how much to read. The key benefit of a flexible approach to goal setting is taking the pressure off needing to make unnecessary decisions. Research demonstrates that we may make as many as 35,000 decisions daily. So anything that helps us side-step decision demand can be beneficial.?

Uplifting

Uplifting refers to the way that we frame our goals. Are we describing our goals in ways that focus on the benefits of a goal or affirm our motivation, or are we describing what we plan to minimize, avoid, or do “less of?” It’s perfectly reasonable to have things in our experience that we’d like to shift, and our framing plays a pivotal role in reaching a goal. It can more impactful, instead, to emphasize the positive impacts of reaching a goal.?

For example, instead of framing a goal as “wanting to procrastinate less,” which focuses our attention on a problem, we can emphasize the effects of reaching our goal, like our sense of accomplishment when we achieve our tasks more quickly. We can also frame our goals around what would be possible if we met them, ie more time with friends, family, and pets if we complete our work faster.? This approach centers our sense of possibility over fear as a motivator to take action.

Numberless

Attaching a numerical value as a marker of completing a goal is only sometimes necessary. There’s a great deal of certainty with a specific number, which can be comforting for some and stifling for others.?

Proponents of specificity highlight the sense of closure that a number can provide. It’s easier to know for sure you’ve reached a goal when it is specific.

Alternatively, by placing so much emphasis on a number, we may find ourselves overwhelmed with stress which can convince weaken our resolve. For example, with a goal of "doing more yoga", is the aim to finish a specific number of yoga sessions or the feeling of success that comes with pushing past what you thought was possible?

Proponents of a non-numerical approach believe that focusing on specificity is akin to hyper-focusing on the score so much that you lose the joy of playing.?

Numerical specificity, of course, has its place, and in many contexts, it is reasonable to emphasize measurable outcomes.?

Final Points

More important still is the clarity and purpose that can motivate us to pursue a goal. It can be helpful to ask ourselves the following questions before committing to a goal:

• What am I hoping to accomplish?
• What is motivating me to pursue this goal??
• When will I know that I’ve accomplished this goal?
• Who does this goal involve other than myself?
• How will I achieve this goal?

We can still know we've succeeded without adhering to the formulaic approach embodied by S.M.A.R.T. goals. F.U.N. goals may be helpful for those of us seeking a more holistic and affirming journey while pursuing our goals. By crafting flexible, uplifting, and numberless goals, we can more readily enjoy the experience and potential benefits we aim to achieve rather than get mired in details. S.M.A.R.T. goals have had their moment. F.U.N. goals may be next.

Chris Hooten (they/them)

Founder & Principal Consultant

Chris Hooten Consulting

#FUNGoals #GoalSetting #NewTrend