There is no point setting goals

Some people naturally set goals, some people have learned to dislike them, and others have never actively thought about it. From time to time, you may set goals and targets. Alternatively, you may have had them set for you by schools, managers, parents and never taken the opportunity of sitting in the driving seat.

Often, we set goals at seminal moments of change, sometimes artificially created by the change in year, a new job, getting married, having a child.

Some people set life goals: “I want to be Prime Minister”, “I want to earn ￡x by 30”, “I want to start a family by the age of 35”... Others set goals for the coming hour: “I want to get this project completed before lunch”… some of these goals are set by ambition, some by necessity and looming deadlines.

Setting personal goals is important: Is it?

You may have heard that setting goals gives you structure. You take stock of the current situation, you think about how you would prefer things to be, and there's your goal.

Not many people set goals though. Studies report that only between 10% and 25% of the population set goals. Why is this?

In my experience, people do things that give them quick results. If the majority of people have found that setting goals doesn't work quickly, then they'll probably give in. How many New Years Resolutions succeed? You’ve probably noticed that gyms and leisure centre car parks are rammed in January but stark by March. According to Pure Gym, February is the busiest month of the year, and the busiest gym day of the whole year is the 2nd Tuesday in March.

When people experience a sense of failure, they often blame the process (goal setting) rather than understand why they set themselves up for failure.

So maybe it's not that goal setting doesn't work, but that the implementation should change in order to have an impactful outcome?

Write it down

There are studies that show that just by writing your goals down you can improve the likelihood of success: Dr Gail Matthews of Dominican University, California reports a 33% improvement in success from simply committing your goals to paper and a second study in the Journal of Applied Psychology reported even higher results of change at a 42% uptick.

Big goals

I'm sure it's not the case for you, but I've fallen into the trap of setting myself a big target that will resolve a huge problem I'm trying to solve... once and for all. It's such a big problem and worthy of the attention of this life-changing, revolutionary approach to my life. When I achieve it, my life will be significantly improved and those I live and work with will reap the rewards as well. Reach for the moon and if I fall short, I'll still be amongst the stars.

Well, that's that done then... This goal solves all problems... My work here is done.

And that, in itself, is the new problem.

If hitting this goal was easy then I would have achieved it already, without planning and definitely without the need to dedicate my brain power to setting a goal. Achieving this goal has now become just as intangible, unachievable and difficult to get to grips with as the problem I wanted to solve. If I walk away at this point, I will be living in the same world of hope and aspirations that I was before, and achieving exactly what I was achieving beforehand: nothing.

I would steer away from calling this sort of thing a "goal": it's a mission. If you're lucky enough to really have one, it's great to understand your mission in life. There is a reason we remember the names of Gandhi, Lincoln, Mandela and Mother Theresa; it's because they were unique in achieving truly game-changing missions. Maybe this is you, however I'd like to address the concept of missions separately from goals.

Little and often

I find I am more successful if I keep moving forwards in small, achievable blocks. It can be challenging to break things down in this way, but for me, it's more successful. It's easier for me to process what I need to do to achieve a ￡1,000,000 sales target if I think about it as a ￡10k sale next week, followed by a ￡20k sale, ramping up to ￡85k in 4 months’ time. A buyer of a ￡10k service looks very different to a buyer of a ￡1,000,000 solution; they're easier to find, to engage with and to understand. It's easier to get started. I stand a chance of feeling success sooner.

This approach has the added benefit of being more flexible and adaptable. The things I learn in my early activities may lead me to change my plan, or who I'm approaching. I may never have learned that if I went "whale hunting".

In my early interactions, I plan to fail: tell me that you'll never buy from me (and why!)? early on so I can learn what someone who will buy from me looks like.

People apply this approach outside of commercial environments. Starting a new job is a lagging indicator of a lot of small, achievable goals: starting with talking to your current manager about the aspirations you have for change, followed by contacting people you've worked with in the past to seek referrals and introductions, and moving on to contacting recruitment agents you've worked with in the past.

If I'm honest, I'd prefer to be working towards something that I can succeed at in short time rather than something that I'm not going to be able to celebrate for a year or longer.

SMART-ER Goals

There was a study in 1967 by Gerald R Miller that demonstrated that a pneumonic improves people's recall and retention by 77%. I’m not wedded to any specific process, but I am committed to processes that work. SMART is as good as any pneumonic for setting goals but I think it benefits from an extension. You might have used it before. If not, it is detailed below: but I'd like to extend it and increase your rate of success:

Specific

Exactly what are you going to do? This should be akin to a single instruction in a recipe: boil the potatoes in a pan of water.

Measurable

When it's done, how will you know it's done, and not still going on? In the heat of the moment, how will you be able to ensure you don't fall slightly short of what you wanted?

Achievable

Do you have all the skills, tools, equipment, time to complete the goal? Is it solely within your gift or do you need other people to do things? Ideally goals are completely in your own hands; do your utmost to make this the case. In many situations this is impossible. Qualify that those involved in your goal are aware, have time and are not going in a different direction before you commit to the goal.

Relevant

How does the goal support the wider ambitions of you, those close to you, your colleagues, your business?

Time-bound

When will this goal be achieved by? Be careful not to be idealistic or hopeful here. Where your goal involves others, be careful to qualify the timeframes with them: be clear on when they will be able to start and finish, and include some contingency.

Delivering SMART success

If you really want to succeed, I would council that you extend the pneumonic. There will be times when you're busy and tired, or when you face adversity. I have found that in these moments it is helpful to be able to remind yourself of why this goal was important in the first place.

Enjoyable

What impact will this goal have when you have achieved it? What effect will it have for you personally that will be better than today?

Rewarding

Once you've completed your goal, how will you celebrate to recognise your success? This doesn't have to be a big celebration. Those who are looking to lose weight reward themselves with a new item of clothing that they will feel great in once they hit a milestone. Those working towards a qualification reward themselves by hanging their certification with pride in their home.

Make it binding, and socialise it

Write your goals down somewhere you won't lose them. Buy a book for your goals, or send yourself an email. Share it with those that can support and check in with you. Find someone else who is setting goals and agree a timetable to review progress together. Set reminders in your calendar ahead of deadlines so you have time to pick up the pace if you need to. Build accountability for yourself and with others, and you will increase your likelihood of success.

Success is a drug

The feeling of success is addictive. Success would be a great drug to get addicted to. So, get yourself hooked by helping yourself to not experience withdrawal symptoms. Give yourself small, achievable goals that get you hooked, keep you moving forwards and drive your success.

I'm not going to wish you luck: that's the transference of responsibility from you to an unseen fate. By setting goals, you're taking control and you no longer deal in excuses. You either will set goals, or you won't.