“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

 -Henry David Thoreau

I have written many goals over the years, both professionally and personally. I used to try to format my goals with a SMART vision. To be honest, I still find this format valuable in its own way. But more recently I have switched to a new, simpler kind of format that works for me.

What is a SMART Goal, Anyway?

A SMART goal is a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. It’s a decent format in the sense that it helps people to formulate a goal that is actually achievable, especially within given evaluative timeframes in professional settings.

What I liked about SMART goals is that it is a way of writing a goal that focuses on making it manageable and concrete, so you know whether or not you’ve achieved it. This is worthwhile since so many goals can be vague or idealistic, without giving the goal setter much insight or direction toward actually accomplishing something.

But just writing the goal with this formula doesn’t make it perfect. There is no guarantee, of course, that someone is more likely to achieve their goal if it’s SMART.

Mark Murphy, a business leadership consultant and author, remarks that one of his studies “found that only 15% of people strongly agreed that their goals for this year will help them achieve great things while only 13% said that their current goals will help them maximize their full potential. Setting SMART goals is not the same as smart goal setting. Obviously, a better goal-setting methodology is needed.” (He recommends HARD goals instead).

For similar reasons I have grown less enamored with SMART goals lately, and here are my three main reasons why.

Three Reasons I’m Shifting Away From SMART Goals

It could be a somewhat intimidating process. It’s really not that complicated writing a goal. Writing SMART goals does NOT have to be a complicated or drawn out process…but at times it began to feel that way for me.

Since a true SMART goal has 5 portions to it (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely), I felt like the “pressure was on” to phrase my goal is such a way as to make sure it matched all five criteria. This took away the pleasure in writing the goal. Instead of getting excited about what I was working towards, I quickly got hung up on the writing and phrasing of it, until the end product felt like something “functional” but not something “exciting.”

The framework doesn’t include specifics for how to achieve the goal. Well, it sort of does. But not in a way I found useful. I could make a “measurable” statement that listed what I wanted to do and how many times or what quantifiable outcome I wanted, but I ran into a few barriers for this.

What if I wanted to achieve something that was difficult to quantify? What if I wanted to do a few different things that would help me achieve my outcomes? What if there were multiple metrics I would need to use for the goal?

These questions, plus the first barrier I listed about making the phrasing and formatting a potentially complicated process, got in the way of me finding the right way to put my words down and set my goal.

It’s okay to dream bigger. I have felt that the framework for a SMART goal makes me think a little smaller rather than bigger. If I want to set an ambitious, difficult goal, the parameters of “realistic – timely – attainable” might actually get in the way of putting something bigger on the table. The goal would be designed to have a 1-2 year focus, but what if there were a broader element that transcended this common framework?

(If you can relate to any of these, leave a comment below and share!)

SHOW Me the Growth…

Instead of setting SMART Goals, just make BIG goals, then think of the little things you want to do along the way to meet them.

Since you have to fight acronym with acronym, allow me to submit my own humble term to the legion of handy life-improvement acronyms: SHOW. As in “SHOW me a better life” or “SHOW me the growth.” 

• SIMPLE. Just make a simple statement about what you want to achieve. “I want to become a better leader,” for example.
• HOW. And how are you going to achieve this? Bullet points or a simple statement work well enough here. Be concrete, and don’t list too many things (three at the most, I recommend).
• OBSTACLES. If your goal is a good one, there are going to be internal and external factors that get in the way. Acknowledge them up front so you can better confront them later.
• WHY. And why the heck do you want this to be your goal? Have a reason that speaks to your passions, interests, and personality.

Let’s say I want to write a novel. Here’s how I’d end up phrasing this:

That, to me, is a big-yet-realistic goal written in plain language. I’m not hung up on the phrasing or the details. It is a basic I-want-to-achieve-this-and-this-is-how-I’m-going-to-do-it format that connects with who I actually am. It is lofty, yet down-to-earth.

For me, I’m okay with having broader and vaguer goal statements, as long as there are specifics built underneath them that keep me on track.

Here’s another sample: 

I know this format will be easy to critique. It’s not perfect. But the whole point is to make something that I can work off of…and that’s what important for you, too. If you’re serious about actually achieving your goals and improving your performance in different areas of your life, then you should be serious about reflective on how you write goals in a way that works for you.

Maybe the SHOW format works for you. For me, it’s important I just write down the goal, no matter what it is, in a way that doesn’t get hung up on language and details. It is just clear, and I briefly reflect on how and why I’m pursuing it.

It’s a goal written in a way that I believe I can achieve it. I own the goal. And if I can believe in it, I can achieve it.

And Once I Write It…

I display it. My goals don’t get put in drawers or submitted on some evaluation platform I never look at. Here are a few places I and others may put their goals:

• On the wall. There are really talented graphic designers out there who can help make your goal statements into an impossible-to-overlook fixture in your office.
• At the top of your journal. I type a daily log (a diary, you might say). At the very top of it are my goals, and I view them every time I open the document.
• On your desk. If your goal relates to work, then display it right there on your desk. I type mine, print them out, and tape them in the middle of my desk. It’s inevitable that I see it every day.
• In a friend’s/colleague’s hands. Why go it alone? Find a trusted friend (who is not your evaluator) who can help keep you accountable. Do the same for them. 

(What else might you do with your goals to remind you to work towards them?)

How about you? I’m interested in learning what other folks are doing out there to write and work towards their goals. Share, share, share in a comment below!