Don’t goal on results
As this year is coming to a close, many of us are reflecting on what we’ve been able to accomplish this past year. Maybe you set some personal new years resolution last year. Did you stick to them?
How can we make this upcoming new year resolutions more successful?
Goal setting is a skillset, in which there are many techniques. It’s an ability that can be honed over time. Just like any other skill, you will first fail. When learning to ride a bike, you’ll fall. But don’t be discouraged, the more you set goals, the better you get at it.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
A very popular goal setting technique is SMART goals. Using this technique, every goal set should be:
S — Specific: Know what and who is involved, and which resources you’ll need
M — Measurable: Can I measure my progress on this goal?
A — Actionable: Are there actions which I can take towards this goal?
R — Realistic: Is this goal not impossible?
T — Time bound: Do I have a deadline for this goal? A goal without a deadline is just a dream.
Even following this technique, how many times have you seen goals like the one below?
Goal: Lose 10 pounds this year
Did this goal meet the SMART requirements?
S — Specific? Check.
M — Measurable? Sure hop on a scale.
A — Actionable? Yes, go to the gym and eat well.
R — Realistic? Yes, it’s not impossible for a person to lose 10 pounds in a year.
T — Time bound? Yes, by the end of the year.
So, this goal did meet the requirements, but what’s wrong with it? (Though one could argue that it’s not realistic for some people.)
This goal is flawed because the goal is based on the result. It’s passed on the output and not the input.
You can only change the input, what you do, and not the output, what happens because of that.
Instead of setting output-based goals, set input-based goals.
Instead of “lose 10 pounds this year” try:
“go to the gym twice a week every week this year”,
“walk 10,000 steps every day this year”, or
“be able to run 5 kilometers without stopping by end of this year”.
With these input based goals, there are no other factors affecting the success of the goal other than your input. Because although you might do all three of those goals successfully this year, it does not mean you would have lost 10 pounds.
Call to action
Set or update a goal to be input-based, to depend solely on your actions and your effort.
