With the year coming to an end, a lot of people find themselves reflecting. What were the highlights of this year? What could have gone better? This self-assessment usually births New Year’s Resolutions. There is definitely merit in taking stock of yourself and looking for ways to become the best version of you. I’m all about self-appraisal and looking for opportunities to make positive changes but I make the assertion that the end of the year isn’t the only time to do this.

Personal Growth should not be seasonal. Progress should be an on-going process. If you make a resolution for the new year and wind up off track after a week, are you really going to wait until the next year to try again? The new year is also a new day. If you think about it, we experience a lot more new days than new years so there are a lot more opportunities for a fresh start. Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?

Some people make New Year’s Resolutions because it’s trendy. They’ll make a resolution for the sole purpose of making a #NewYearNewMe post for “The Gram”. These are the people that are less likely to actually be committed to change. There are others with good intentions when making their resolutions, but they struggle with execution. This brings me to the concept of Goal Setting.

In the 1980s, George T. Doran wrote a paper titled There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives, which was published in The Management Review.  In this, he established that departments within an organization should set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Related. This has been re-adapted several times over the years.  While this theory was originally developed for business, S.M.A.R.T. goals can also be made at a personal level. Here are some things to keep in mind when setting goals. They should be:

Specific- Any goal that you set for yourself should be well-defined. What exactly is it that you would like to accomplish? In exploring this, you may find that your overall goal is actually a series of smaller goals.

Measurable- Depending on what you set out to accomplish, you might need a way to gauge progress to guarantee that you’re headed in the right direction. What determines the achievement of this goal?

Achievable- Is it already within your power to accomplish this feat? If not, are there resources that you need to take advantage of to help meet the goal? You might find that some things are just not meant to be within scope. This is not a bad thing.

Relevant- The goals you set may be like puzzle pieces. What is your master plan for yourself? How does this piece of the puzzle fit into the big picture?

Time-Based- How long should it take you to achieve this goal? What’s your deadline? Are there milestones that should be reached along the way? Do they have their own deadlines?

NOTE: This is not the only way to approach goal setting. Depending on what you’d like to accomplish, some of this may not be applicable. The moral of the story is that if you give thoughtful, thorough consideration when setting goals, you increase the likelihood of achievement. #HappyNewYear #HappyNewDay