Why SMART Goals Aren't Working For You and What To Do Instead

Think back to a year ago: did you make goals for 2020? If you are a high achieving and/or ambitious person, my guess was that you did.

And then, reality hit.

So tell me, how did that work out for you?

Now, if you are anything like me, you had a tumultuous, if not hellacious year. So I'm curious, if you made SMART goals for 2020, did you struggle to meet them? My guess would be that you did.

And that's because SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Reasonable, Time-keyed goals are outdated. They no longer serve our modern world.

SMART goals were created for the 1980's manager. The world and it's values has changed so much since then, that it no longer makes sense to use SMART goals as a changing society.

There are two huge sticking points to SMART goals that actually make them counter-productive. The "R" and the "T" specifically.

THE PROBLEM WITH "REASONABLE" GOALS

We don't get innovation or big changes to structural and institutional issues by being "reasonable" (or "attainable" depending on how you learned the acronym). In fact, we get the opposite.

In order to create change, we need to start with the dream in mind, and then work backwards. Then we need to break it into skills and habits, not reasonable actions.

If you want to improve your work culture to be more inclusive, you start with the dream - what does that look like day to day?

Then work backwards until you can find the skills and habits everyone needs in order to make that a reality.

Because we already have enough outside forces limiting us. We don't need to limit ourselves before we get out the gate.

You don't need a SMART goal. You need a clear vision-- a dream. Then build the skills and habits that make that automatic. 

If you have to rationalize your goals to try to motivate yourself, you probably don't really want it anyway, so don't waste your time or anyone else's.

THE PROBLEM WITH TIME-KEYED GOALS

In our fast-paced, anxiety inducing world, we do not need time-keyed goals, because they are arbitrary and meaningless unless we decide to get upset about not hitting it...which still serves no purpose.

Having a deadline for a goal takes the enthusiasm out of the goal. It implies tacit judgement: that you aren't good enough, smart enough, productive enough, or passionate enough to make it happen.

Ambitious people are notorious for reaching goals and not even pausing to celebrate because instead of it being a great achievement, reaching the goal was simply a way to avoid the harsh judgement of being labelled lazy, incompetent, or incapable.

We already know that the likelihood of completing the goal before the deadline is low (otherwise wouldn't set a deadline in an attempt to speed us up), so we are just injecting more anxiety into our lives.

In this case, we are attempting to motivate ourselves with desperation.

Instead, we should focus on integrating habits into our lives so that goals are reached automatically.

This means instead of having a sales goal of however many millions by X date, it moves to skills and habits: how much am I practicing and improving my sales skills? How many outbound messages and calls do I make a habit of sending each day?

When we work with skills and habits, there's less pressure to do more, and more opportunity to become more.

WHAT WE SHOULD DO INSTEAD - WOW GOALS

I recommend setting WOW goals because these goals are fueled by inspiration.

We already know that time-keyed goals make for actions taken out of desperation - meeting deadlines. Which can work—but you'll likely feel terrible the whole time, waiting for it to be over.

We also know that reasonable goals make for actions taken out of rationalization - meaning there is no true desire. Which can also work—but you'll likely feel dead inside, again, waiting for it to be over.

But when you have a wow goal, your actions are taken out of inspiration - meaning you get fired up about being on that path. This works best because you'll feel like you've truly come alive.

So from a place of contentment—where you know if you don't reach the goal you'll still be grateful and loving of your life—map a vision for the future. 

That's how you start your WOW goal.

Here's how you achieve it:

SET YOUR WOW, THEN WORK BACKWARDS

Once you've jotted down that picture, you should feel a thrumming excitement. It should feel like a clean, pure delight. No judgements. That's how you know you're on the right track and can move to working it backwards.

Working it backwards means saying "in order for that dream to happen, I need to have done _______." And do that again "in order for me to have done _______, I will have had to have done _______." 

Repeat that again and again until you get to where you are now. Each of those steps from working backwards is a separate goal, but the only one you need to worry about is the one right in front of you.

These are your milestone goals.

BREAK YOUR GOAL INTO SKILLS & HABITS

With the nearest milestone to where you are now, break it down into skills and habits. Answer the question: "What skills do I need to develop to make this happen?" 

If you have a team you can ask "what skills do my team need to develop to make this happen?"

Then, from there, it's the home stretch: create habits that make your skills develop automatically.

YOUR GOAL AUTOMATICLY BECOMES A PART OF WHO YOU ARE

If you are asking yourself, "what habits, if done regularly (daily, weekly, etc) would virtually guarantee me to be successful in this?" then all you need to do is list those habits out and integrate them into your life.

Habits are triggered by something called "cues" so find a habit you already do, and stack this new habit on top. 

With this approach, you don't have to struggle so hard to will yourself to go after your dreams or make big changes at work. When you start with WOW, you have everything in place to do them nearly automatically.

So you can do things the hard way (the "traditional" way, read: the patriarchy's way), or you can do things the inspired way, that automatically makes you better instead of frustrates you and makes you feel small.

People are always blasting about taking MASSIVE ACTION.

But I say no. 

Don't play into that noise.

Instead, take LASTING ACTION. Form the life-long skills that come as a byproduct of, habit by habit, building the life of your dreams.

Do this and your life will become rich in more ways than one.

If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to check out my podcast where I talk about topics just like this and more.

You are welcome to check it out here:

I wish you all the best in 2021. I think there are very few of us who are sorry to see 2020 go. As you craft your goals for the year ahead, I leave you with this quote by author, activist, philosopher, theologian Howard Thurman: