The Importance of Goal Setting

If you aren’t moving forward, then where are you going? The importance of goal setting is to keep you moving forward toward success. If you aren’t already writing down your goals, then this is the guide for you.

Importance of Goal Setting

If you don’t have any goals, then it’s a bit harder to tell if you’re making progress. Having goals in a few key parts of your life is crucial to propel you toward success. The key is to create SMART goals that are written to help you achieve them.

How to Write Goals

What are SMART goals? This is a standard of goal setting, with the acronym standing for this:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Relevant

Time-bound

The reason this is the basis for all goal-setting exercises is providing numeric values for your goal gives you a statistic for measurement. If you have some type of value assigned, it’s easier to measure progress and also to be held accountable.

An example: most people say they want to “lose weight” and “get in shape” for their New Year’s Resolution, but what exactly does that entail? By assigning values to this goal, you are able to better take actionable steps to meet it. Vague goals do not generally get achieved.

A better option for this goal:

SMART goal: I want to lose ten pounds in the first quarter of the year.

This goal is achievable for slow and realistic weight loss. By having a specific target and date, you’re able to reverse-engineer this goal to create action steps.

Goal Setting Examples

Here is another example in which we will go through the SMART goal setting method. The beginning goal phrase will be “I want to go to college.”

Create a specific goal:

To address the “S” in smart, you should add some more specific details to that statement. In this case, what degree would you like to obtain?

After “S”: I want to go to college to become a nurse.

Make your goal measurable:

That goal is already narrowed down, so now it needs to be refined a bit more! “Nurse” is more specific, but what kind of nurse? How can you make this measurable?

After “M”: I want to be a Registered Neonatal Nurse.

How to make your goal achievable:

After getting more specific and adding a measurable element to the goal, then you need to figure out how to make it more achievable. You must consider the process to get there, how long it will take you, and some difficulties you might encounter along the way. The more realistic it is, then the more likely you are to achieve it!

After “A”: I want to become a Registered Neonatal Nurse. This will require a pre-requisite college education, getting accepted to an RN program, and possibly some specialized training for the neonatal unit.

Is it relevant?

When trying to narrow down the details of your goal, you need to make sure you’re including relevant details and action steps. Cleaning your room every day will not allow you to become a doctor. Choose the relevant action steps!

After “R”: I will complete my nursing pre-requisite courses by next fall so that I can apply to the RN program.

Is it time-bound?

If you never get started on your goal, then of course you will never achieve it. Having a timeline to follow can be helpful for focusing on action steps you need to take right now.

After “T”: I will complete my nursing pre-requisite courses by next fall, complete the nursing program in 4 years, and specialize in my field the following year.

Do You Need Help?

If setting goals is a bit overwhelming to you, then you can get help for this! Working with a life coach can bring you clarity and help guide you toward the correct action steps to take toward your goals. Life coaching programs are made with you in mind to help you focus on what tasks to work toward right now. Click the link below to schedule a free call with a life coach today!