SEO Company | SEO Consulting | We Deliver ROI | Tor Refsland

  • About
  • Contact
  • Discovery Page

The SMART Goal Definition (And Why It Can Boost Your Success)

by Tor Refsland 23 Comments

 

smart goal definition

You are fed up.

Because you have been trying to set and reach your goals a gazillion times…

but no matter how HARD you try, you can`t seem to reach them.

Somehow the goal always seems to elude you…

like a red handkerchief  in the hands of a master matador.

When the angry bull is only a few inches away from impaling the handkerchief, the matador makes a quick movement in a split-second…

and suddenly the bull is throwing itself again thin air.

Failing to reach your goal, makes you a bit annoyed.

Nah, who are we kidding?

Let`s be honest…

It pisses you off!

Can you relate?

No worries, I`ve been there too.

When I started to use a proven system for setting and reaching my goals, EVERYTHING CHANGED.

And it can for you too!

Let me reveal the SMART goal definition and how it can boost your success.

The SMART goal definition

It is a method based on the following acronyms:

  • S – specific
  • M – measurable
  • A – attainable
  • R – relevant
  • T – time-based

Note: I`ve created a SMART goals template that has helped me reach my goals several times.
Click the button below to get it for free (normally I just give them to my coaching clients).

Click Here to Get Your FREE Template

You might be thinking, “yeah, I get the acronyms, Tor. But how does it apply to the real world?”

Excellent question.

Let`s say that you are on a top secret mission (yeah, I`m a sucker for James Bond movies), and your mission is to transport a package from point A to point B.

You start in a country, let`s say USA (point A) and you are going to travel to another country (point B).

Specific – where are you going?

If you don`t know exactly WHERE you are going, you will probably not reach our destination.

  1. Country – if you know that your final destination is Canada, it won`t help you much at all (it is too generic, and Canada is a very LARGE country
  2. State – if you got the additional information that your destination is Quebec (it still wouldn`t do you much good)
  3. City – if you were told that the City was named Montreal (it`s still not specific enough for you to find the exact destination)
  4. Post Address – If you knew the exact post address, you would be able to arrive at the correct destination, right?

You get the point.

The more SPECIFIC the goal is, the better it is.

Measurable – how far from the destination?

If a goal is not measurable, you will not know how you are doing compared to your goal…

but worst of all, you will NOT know when you have reached it.

Delivering a package of goods to a specific address in Montreal is measurable.

Thanks to the inventions of GPS, you can measure our remaining distance to the final destination.

And when you reach the address, you will know that you have accomplished your goal.

Attainable – is it realistic?

If you think the goal is attainable, you will be motivated to start on the journey…

and more importantly, you will most likely complete your mission (goal).

On the other hand, if you think that the goal is unrealistic, you will never truly be committed to complete the mission.

Why?

Because you know deep inside that it`s not a realistic goal.

So why should you even try?

It`s like if you were able to do 10 push ups on a VERY good day, and then you set the goal that you should be able to do 100 push ups in two weeks time.

That`s crazy!

It`s like reaching for the stars, right?

Relevant – will this action bring you closer to the destination?

If the actions you are going to do, don`t bring you any closer to your the goal, it`s counter-productive…

but even worse, it`s a total WASTE of TIME and effort.

Let`s say that you want to lose weight.

If your key activities are to sit in front of the TV watching reruns of bad reality series while eating potato chips and drinking soda, it`s not only waste of time and effort…

it`s DIRECTLY counter-productive…

and will take you FURTHER from your goal, even BEFORE you have started out.

That`s what you can call a bad start.

Time-based – when will you arrive at your destination?

Setting a deadline is important.

The experts say that a goal without a deadline is just a dream.

When are you going to arrive at your destination?

The more specific, the better.

If you are going to arrive on a specific address in Montreal on a certain date to deliver a package to someone, you still have a 24 hours window.

The EXACT time would be of great importance.

How the SMART Goal definition can boost your success

If you DON`T have proven system that you use when you set your goals, you are depending on guesswork and gut feeling.

You might just as well sit in the middle of a green meadow under a rainbow in a meditating position, trying to mentally attract flying unicorns…

it`s just going to happen. But HOW can you boost your chance of success?

By following a PROVEN system.

Have you ever heard about someone building a house without using any type of blueprint?

Most likely not. (If you have, for the sake of your own life, you shouldn`t enter their home.)

Why do people use blueprints to build their house?

Because they want to MAKE SURE that the house is going to look exactly like they have PLANNED.

They DON`T want looking at their new house feel like opening a package on Christmas…

NOT knowing what they are going to get, right?

And neither should you, regarding YOUR GOALS. If you are willing to PLAN building your new house so thoroughly…

WHY shouldn`t you do the same with YOUR LIFE?

Here`s what to do next…

Since I really want you to succeed, I want to do something COOL for you.

I`m giving you my SMART Goal template that I normally only give to my coaching clients.

The template has helped me to reach my goals, over and over again.

Download your FREE SMART goal template below and start crushing YOUR GOALS!

Click Here to Get Your FREE Template

 

What`s your experience with setting and reaching your goals?

Do you have any kind of system or template when it comes to setting your goals?

About Tor Refsland
I help online entrepreneurs NETWORK with influencers and position their BRAND so they can attract the right CLIENTS fast. Award-winning blogger.

Facebook  • Twitter • Google • 

Filed Under: Goal Setting Tagged With: smart goal definition

Comments

  1. Sue Anne Dunlevie says

    July 16, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    Great article, Tor. Just what I need to see today.

    Thanks,
    Sue

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 16, 2015 at 6:03 pm

      Thanks for your kind words, Sue.

      I am glad to see that you found this article useful 🙂

      Tor

      Reply
  2. Esther says

    July 17, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    Thank you Tor,

    Thank you for this nice article. This method is definitely smart. It counteracts the limiting beliefs which otherwise would sabotage reaching the goal.

    S – I do not know exactly what I should do.
    M – Does that bring me anything at all?
    A – I will never achieve it anyway.
    R – I do not see the point in committing myself doing this.
    T – It will take me forever, anyway.

    Do you think I identified correctly those limiting beliefs?

    Thank you,
    Esther

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 17, 2015 at 4:51 pm

      Hi Esther,

      I like your twist with the limiting beliefs.

      Yeah, the limiting beliefs you are mentioning sounds logical.

      The most important factor here is S (specific):
      – Which EXACT result does it bring me?

      When you know the answer to that question, you can then ask the question:
      Okay, so it brings me X, is it really worth it.

      Example:
      If you wanted to get in good shape running a marathon and your goal was to run the marathon in X amount of time.
      You talked to a marathon coach and found out that you needed to put in Y amount of training sessions.

      If Y (the price you need to pay) is bigger than the X (the reward) you will most likely NOT do it.

      And it`s totally understandable.

      Who would want to put in a lot of work, sweat and time only to get rewarded with a few pennies?

      Have a great day.

      Best,

      Tor

      Reply
  3. Brent Jones says

    July 17, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    Hi Tor,

    I like the spin you put on the concept of SMART goals. Great job.

    For me, visualization helps a lot.

    When I set a goal, it is always something I can easily quantify. And I will generally post a cartoon thermometer or arrow to my office cork board… then as I move closer to my goal, I color in my progress.

    It serves as a reminder each day to keep moving things forward… because I want to see that thermometer totally colored in. 🙂

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 18, 2015 at 2:03 pm

      Thanks a lot for your comment, Brent.

      Visualization is always a good thing, the more often you can remind yourself of your goal AND to do the necessary activities, the higher is the chance that you will actually perform them.

      You need to find out what works best for you.

      There are normally 4 factors when it comes to reaching a goal:
      1. What do you want to achieve
      2. Why do you want to achieve it (find your strong WHY – your passion)
      3. What do you have to sacrifice? (What`s the price?)
      4. Decide if the award is worth the cost

      The big factor is your big passion regarding WHY you want to achieve your goal. The stronger your why is, the higher is the chance that you will be able to endure all the challenges and struggle along the way.

      Have a great day.

      Tor

      Reply
  4. Camilla Hallstrom says

    July 22, 2015 at 5:16 am

    Hey Tor, nice article and great take on SMART goals! Following SMART goals really does give results. It forces you to really define your goal instead of throwing out some vague fluff without any plan for achieving that goal.

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 22, 2015 at 8:59 am

      Hi Camilla,

      thanks a lot for stopping by to comment. I really appreciate it.

      Reaching your goals is like cooking food, it`s very helpful to have a recipe that you can follow.

      Imagine yourself standing on the kitchen and you were going to cook a dish you had NEVER cooked before.

      In addition, you had NO recipe.

      You are probably thinking that it`s CRAZY, right?

      It`s because it IS.

      How the heck can you cook a dish you have never cooked before without a recipe?

      You probably don`t have ALL the right ingredients…

      and even if you did…

      you wouldn`t KNOW.

      In other words, it`s all just guesswork and creative spontaneous actions you execute as you go along.

      The same goes for GOAL SETTING.

      Without following a RECIPE, it`s just guesswork and messing around.

      Reply
  5. Theodore Nwangene says

    July 23, 2015 at 12:21 pm

    A well written post Tor,
    Goal setting is very essential in any endeavor, both in business and in personal life.

    Almost all the successful businesses out there today are very good in goal setting. Not having goals is like when you’re running round a circular object, you’ll never know where you’re heading to and when you’ve gotten there.

    Any person that truly want to achieve great things in life must first start by setting great goals and with all the points you made here, the process will really be very easy.

    I’m going to download your checklist now, looking forward to working with it :).

    Thanks or sharing such an actionable post Tor.

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 23, 2015 at 8:02 pm

      Thanks a lot for your great comment, Theodore.

      Yes, it`s not possible to be highly successful in your career, unless you are really good at setting at hitting your goals.

      It`s like sailing a boat, if you don`t know WHERE you are going, how can you get there?

      And even, if you are doing fairly well without focusing on goal setting…

      imagine WHERE you could have been if you had put some effort into it 😉

      If you want to take control over your life and start designing life on your terms, goal setting is essential.

      Have a great day, Theodore.

      Best,

      Tor

      Reply
  6. sneha says

    September 11, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Hey Tor, nice article and great take on SMART goals! Following SMART goals really does give results. It forces you to really define your goal instead of throwing out some vague fluff without any plan for achieving that goal.

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      September 12, 2015 at 9:12 am

      Thanks for stopping by, Sneha.

      As Peter Drucker said: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

      Best,

      Tor

      Reply
  7. Ravinder Kadian says

    December 23, 2015 at 6:23 am

    Sometimes I found it really interesting to read out the success stories and all those stories inspire me to develop something new.
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      December 24, 2015 at 11:17 am

      Well said, Ravinder. Thanks for commenting.

      Tor

      Reply
  8. Ravinder Kadian says

    December 23, 2015 at 7:40 am

    I liked “Time-based – when will you arrive at your destination?” this point the most
    thanks for sharing

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      December 24, 2015 at 11:16 am

      Thanks for commenting, Ravinder. I really appreciate it.

      Merry Christmas!

      Reply
  9. Rajesh Dahiya says

    February 20, 2016 at 4:38 am

    I really appreciate the effort you have made Tor. Thanks for Sharing

    Reply
  10. RRB Transport Assistant says

    February 26, 2016 at 4:08 pm

    Really Helpful Brother. Will visit again to read more

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      March 10, 2016 at 10:33 am

      Thanks man 🙂

      High five to you! *SLAP*

      Tor

      Reply
  11. Nikhil Suthar says

    July 4, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    Thanks a Lot For This Post

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      July 19, 2016 at 6:57 am

      Thanks, Nikhil 🙂

      Reply
  12. Mind Ape says

    August 21, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    Heyhey Tor

    Thanks for sharing your outline of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting!
    I thinks it’s really the heart of becoming effective in what one does.
    Would love to read some impressions from you on how to tackle the different “letters” of S.M.A.R.T.
    Often I only realized after a while that the goals I set weren’t really smart, although I was convinced they were. For instance “attainable” – it seems to be really difficult to not over- or underestimate one’s capabilities and time resources to achieve a certain goal …

    Many thanks!
    cheers
    Mind Ape

    Reply
    • Tor Refsland says

      September 30, 2016 at 8:31 am

      Thanks for commenting Mind Ape.

      Yeah, S.M.A.R.T. goal setting can be a bit tricky in the start.

      Once you get used to setting smart goals, you will also get to know your own capabilities more.

      This will again lead to you finding it easier to set attainable goals in the future 🙂

      Keep up the good work!

      Tor

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Tor Refsland

I help healthy businesses get tons of customers with traffic from Google.

I´m a multi award-winning blogger, SEO strategist & business coach. I´m featured in a book with some of the best marketers in the world; Seth Godin, Chris Brogan, Brian Clark & Grant Cardone. Read More…

As Seen On

Endorsements

Awards

  • SEO Oslo SEO Bergen SEO Trondheim SEO Stavanger Søkemotoroptimalisering (SEO) Fredrikstad Søkemotoroptimalisering (SEO) Kristiansand SEO Ekspert Oslo SEO Ekspert Bergen Baltimore SEO Tucson SEO Salt Lake City SEO Seattle SEO Expert Columbus SEO Expert

Copyright © 2023 · eleven40 Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in