I’m back for round 2 of goal setting.  And today I’m talking about why setting SMART goals isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Today I’ve shared my weekly ‘success list’.  It’s a simple tool that I use personally, and with clients.  I really hope you enjoy it and put it to good use.  I am giving the ‘word’ document so you can edit and and make it your own.

If you ever wanted to achieve any sort of result, whether it was in health and fitness, business or your career, you’ve probably learned about the importance of setting SMART goals. And if you worked with me, I would have helped you do the same. We would sit down together and come up with a goal that fit golden standard: it was specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. In health and fitness, some examples are “to lose 15 pounds by November 1” or “to run 5K in under 23 minutes by October 15th.

The goal is neat, clean, clear and at the same time, completely uninspiring. And until this moment that I’m writing this, I never questioned the idea. I accepted the need for goals to be SMART as a truth. Perhaps it is possible that there’s another way, for some people anyway. I am challenging the idea that a good goal needs to be SMART.

The action steps I shared in the podcast are:

1. Imagine where you want to eventually get to.  Do you want to be confident?  Healthy?  Stronger?  More energetic?  Pay attention to how that feels.  Don’t worry about needing to measure anything, or set a timeline. 

2. Break the ‘feeling’ down in to action steps.  What can you do today that will make you healthier?  Stronger?  More energetic?

3. Commit to taking action TODAY.  Use the weekly success list above to help.  I also recommend going back and listening to Episode 3 with Christine Line.

Thanks so much for listening.  This is my first solo episode (besides the intro- episode 1 and that took me about 4 hours to make the 15 minute episode :). 

Thanks For Tuning In!

Thanks so much for joining me this week. I really look forward to getting to know you in the months to come. If you have a question that you would like answered, or need a bit of extra help in a certain area, please take a moment to email me at tanjashaw@gmail.com.

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