Many of us are working on our goals, plans and vision for 2019. It’s hard to ignore this annual ritual. If you are on social media, you will notice that there are a ton of coaches and motivators live streaming and sharing information on Goal Setting 24/7. The most common goal setting strategy taught by coaches is called SMART Goals – I am sure that you would have heard of this strategy. (Specific Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time specific}. SMART goal setting brings structure and trackability into your goals and objectives. Instead of vague resolutions, SMART goal setting creates verifiable trajectories towards a certain objective, with clear milestones and an estimation of the goal’s attainabililty.
Now, I personally dont use SMART goals. If I was to plan my year by setting SMART goals, it would quite literally hold me back. I would never have achieved all that I have achieved in the last few years by following this particular method. SMART goals are not ideal for those of us with big dreams and visions because they encourage big dreamers to focus on the attainable and realistic. SMART goals tell us it’s better not to overextend ourselves and rest within our limitations. Very few great innovations or human leaps forward came from a predictable path or an idea that was immediately ‘attainable’ or ‘realistic. So what I am saying here is – It is important to identify whether or not SMART goals is the best strategy for you.
Far too many people have lost all grand ambitions for achieving big dreams by heeding the advice of those who insist on telling us to follow their simple and basic ways of goal setting and living life. How sad that so many are achieving alot less than their true potential by following standard advice. If you are spending time right now, setting goals and planning your vision for 2019, here’s another goal setting strategy called DUMB Goals – for those of you who dont want to settle for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound.
Dream-driven
Let’s have vision for our lives, not just focus on our tasks. Let’s dream big again and get our heads out of our to-dos. Are the goals we’re setting aligned with our bigger vision for our lives and our contributions?
Uplifting
How is it that smart goals have no prerequisite for positivity?
Shouldn’t our goals inspire something in us more than a need to meet a deadline? Let’s set inspiring, positive, joyous, uplifting goals for ourselves.
Method-friendly
If we’re going to take aim at something, let it be something that is friendly to developing practices of mastery. Martial arts, yoga, and common sports all have methods, practices, forms, and habits that are built around a broader goal and help people move to mastery. A good goal allows us to create methods and practices that help us move toward them. If we can’t build a practice around it, then we don’t have a goal, we have a task.
Behavior triggered
When we set a goal, we should create a behavioral trigger that reminds us to chase it. For example, if we want to be a better parent, then we can set a behavior trigger to accomplish it, like a rule, so that when we pull into the driveway at night our first thought is to take a moment to center ourselves and finding a calm and loving space before entering the house. Or, if our goal is to become healthy, the trigger can be that every time we drop the kids off, we drive to the health food store. A trigger means: if I am already doing A, then I’m going to add behavior B right after in order to habitually move toward my goal; it’s a reminder and an activator.
Now, there is always an opposite to every piece of advice out there,including mine so it is important that you perhaps consider all the strategies, advice and information available when it comes to bringing your 2019 vision to life, but really, before you commit to following someone elses principles, including mine, you want to be very sure that their methods are not going to slow you down! In 2013, when I was exploring everyone’s different goal setting methods, I had scribbled down in my diary the word DARE. I had dared myself to write 3 books in 5 years.. I achieved this goal and exceeded my own expectations because I believed that I could and I followed my own life plan – not someone elses.
My DARE strategy is as follows –
Dream
If you have a dream, decide that 2018 is the year that you will follow that dream and work towards bringing it into reality. To achieve your dream, you need to believe in yourself and absolutely ignore the naysayers. I have encountered many of them over the years. You must have absolute faith that you are good enough and great enough to make your dream happen…so right now if you are thinking of your dream and you feel like perhaps you arent good enough to achieve it, work on your own self esteem first. This will lay the foundation and allow you to work towards your biggest brightest dream!
Action
Dreaming is nothing without action.
If you want to write a book, you have to write. If you want to run a marathon, you have to train. If you want to feel healthier,you have to choose beautiful, healthy food. Nothing will come to fruition without some serious action. Even if your daily actions are small,even if you devote just one hour a day, every day towards your dream, just imagine what you can achieve by this time next year. AIM FOR THE STARS and take ACTION every day without fail or distraction.
Religiously – follow your dream
Religiously follow your dream and commit to doing the work. There are so many twists and turns on the way to achieving a big dream and if you have rigid expectations and rigid goals in place, you are going to experience some real disappointments when things dont go as expected..
Learn to be flexible and resilient so that you can still move forward when certain things along the road don’t go exactly to plan.
Everyday
Everyday that you take action towards achieving your big dream,
you actually build momentum. Once you’ve got momentum on your side you become an unstoppable force. Everyday , ensure that you hold an unshakeable, positive and determined mindset. Everyday, acknowledge that it is just a matter of time before you achieve your big dream.
In 2019, whether your dream is small or whether your dream is massively huge and has the potential to change lives around the world for the better… now is the time to make it happen.
Wishing you a wonderful New Year
Jo Ettles