Smarter Way To Set Goals (2 Goal Setting Factors You Probably Didn’t Know)

by Venchito Tampon | Last Updated on January 14, 2021

You know SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. This is good, but there is a better way to set goals. We call it SMARTER. 

In this episode, you’ll discover how to set SMARTER goals so that you’ll end up this year with achievements and progress in life.  And at the end of this episode, the two factors in SMARTER acronym, E & R that makes a difference in how you set your goals. 

Goal setting is important not because of what you’ll get, but because of how it can help you achieve the person you want to become. 

The late Jim Rohn says this best, “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

The person you want to become is far greater than the things you’ll get at the end of this year. 

If you want to set goals, here’s a SMARTER way of doing so.

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Specific 

Specificity brings clarity. The more specific your goals, the clearer you can see your goals. And when it comes to achieving it, there is the likelihood you can achieve them because they are clear to you in the first place.

Starting an online business is not specific. Starting an eCommerce dropshipping business is a specific goal. A more specific could be Starting an eCommerce dropshipping business targeting customers in Metro Manila (as your city). 

Make it more specific. Because your brain can’t function or focus on many things. Practice specifying your goals are. Or if you have written your goals already, ask how can you make them as specific as possible. 

Measurable

This is the next piece of the goal-setting puzzle. It should be measurable. 

By measurable, it means quality and quantity.

There are goals that are hard to measure by quality but can be measured by quantity. There are also goals that are difficult to measure by quantity but can be measured by quantity.

An increase in sales is not a measurable goal. Increase leads by 200% this month is a measurable goal. 

You can add a more quality factor to it. So instead of setting a goal like, “increase qualified leads by 200% this month” is a better goal.

Attainable

Attainable doesn’t mean that you should base it depending on your skills and gifts – that a goal can be attained if you have the skill or capacity to do it.

Attainable means that is within your current context. For instance, you’ve set a goal as a financial advisor to be the top advisor in your agency this year – that is attainable. But if you’re not a financial advisor yourself, it is attainable not unless you’ve joined an insurance company this year.

Attainable is simply using your common sense. Can you attain it based on your current setup and context right now? 

Risky

In the common SMART goals that you know, R stands for Realistic. 

So people set their goals based on what they think can be realistic for them. So let’s say their current income is 30,000 per month, they set realistic goals of let’s say 50,000 or 60,000 pesos, double the income. That itself is realistic.

The problem with setting realistic goals is not it is not getting you out of your comfort zone. Realistic means it is still within your current capacity or just a double of your current capacity.

If you really want to not just get things, but be a better person this year, you want to set RISKY goals, not realistic goals. 

RISKY involves faith in the process.

It goes beyond your comfort zone. Your limits. Your capacity.

It may not be too good to be true with your current setup, but it pushes you to grow and progress in life. That is better than settling for a good with realistic goals. 

Time-keyed

Time-keyed or time-bound means that you set goals within a time frame.

In 2 years, in 2 months, in 2 weeks. It is setting a deadline for every goal. Without any deadline or time frame, you’re likely to procrastinate things. 

You end up not accomplishing things because the goal can still be done next year, not this year.

Setting time-keyed goals are important because it gives you urgency in what you do. When things are urgent, and when you’re seeing a perceived goal by the end of date and time, you get those things done. 

The next two factors are not included in the common SMART goal setting system.

The first factor is E – which is:

Exciting

It is very obvious, but most goals aren’t exciting for the person.

If you want to achieve your goals, not only set them, you have to make sure they are exciting.

And by excitement, it means that when you think of the goal, you’d like to wake up in the morning and make it happen. That is exciting. 

Once you see your goal, it should be exciting for you, not energy draining. Anything that is draining your energy is something you have to avoid. 

Make sure your goals are exciting.

The most important piece of all in the SMARTER goals is R – relevant.

Relevant

Goals should be relevant to you.

You can set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, risky, time-bound, and exciting, but if they are not relevant to you — these goals are useless.

Relevant means that is personal to you. 

Do not set goals based on what other people say to you that you want to do this year. Do not set goals based on what you see from other people’s timelines – their aspirations. Their aspirations are not your personal aspirations.

Relevant goals mean that they are unique to you. They are different because they have this personal touch.

When you set your goals, you know it is you who wrote them down. 

Set relevant goals.