SMART goals will require a reasonable amount of effort to attain. Realistic does not mean easy. Spend some time thinking about the goal and whether or not you have the ability to pull it off.
Within the automotive industry (particularly General Motors), this type of planning was used to develop personal "stretch goals".
Imagine you're trying to grab something that is JUST out of your reach; that could be a stretch goal (literally and figuratively).
Just because you can't reach it on your own does not mean you can't use a stool, ladder, or some other tool to get your prize.
So resist the temptation to set goals that you already know you can achieve for the sake of being "realistic".
If we return to this week's running example, making an achievable goal created a few changes. We now have a choice to make:
- Decrease the dollar amount of the SMART goal
- Save $250 per month
- Increase your monthly income
- Earn $5,000 per month (This goal is also specific and measurable)
You may chose to increase your earned income to $5,000 per month. But given the state of the economy lately (particularly that of the Metro Detroit area), your employer probably handed out pay cuts and pink slips to stay in business over the past few years.
If the environment really has stabilized, there are going to be a lot of people looking to recoup their losses. So increasing your salary (i.e. earned income) might require some extraordinary effort on your part just to get noticed!
And being realistic I'm assuming a raise of 6-10% (some might even argue that percentage is too high to be realistic).
Since extraordinary is usually much more than reasonable, the specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic goal is saving $250 per month.
Need help setting goals?
Download the new SMART Goal Template at Invest-Safely.com!
Source:
SMART Goals Make Investing Plain and Simple
http://www.invest-safely.com/smart-goals.html
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