Do you want to make a change in your life, but you’re not sure how or if you even can? Well, setting realistic short, intermediate, and long-term goals is important to help you achieve the improvements you want to make in your life. Whether your goals pertain to school, work, personal habits, or any other matter, utilizing the concept of SMART goals can help. Here’s how to set and work towards your goals.

Let’s take a look at what SMART stands for:

S - specific, significant.

M - measurable, meaningful.

A - attainable, achievable.

R - realistic, relevant.

T - time-based, timely.

When you wish to make a change and create a realistic goal to achieve and gain the benefits from, you must take the time to consider the five aspects of SMART goals.

Specific:

To make your goal specific, answer the six “W’s” in order to not only understand what it is you hope to achieve but also help you effectively take action.

Who: Who is involved?

What: What do I want to accomplish?

Where: Identify a location.

When: Establish a time frame.

Which: Identify requirements and constraints.

Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

For example, someone who says that they wish to get better grades in their Psychology course is way too general of a goal. More specific goals would be to state that you are going to take an hour from your evening twice a week to do some extra studying in order to better retain the concepts of your Psychology course.

Measurable:

For a goal to be measurable, you have to establish a way to measure your progress towards each of your goals. When you measure your progress, you do not loose track of where you are, you can reach any deadlines you create and experience the satisfaction of achievement as you work your way towards your goal(s). Ask yourself:

- How much? How many?

- How will I know when it is accomplished?

Attainable:

Having attainable goals involves being able to plan out your steps to make a change or decision as well as establish a time frame to effectively work through them. Your goals may seem far away or far-fetched at one point, but making sure you have a wise plan of attack can help you build up your confidence as you strive to challenge yourself and or achieving what you desire.

Realistic:

To have a realistic goal, it must be an objective you can be mentally prepared for and able to work towards. For example, saying that you are going to become the manager of a retail store when you have no experience in retail or managing may not be a realistic goal. Sure, you can become a manager--one day. But first, you should work towards gaining experience in the retail business (perhaps by working a part-time job in a local retail store) before becoming a manager. Like in this example, you might have a big long-term goal but you will often find several short-term goals are needed in order to successfully achieve the big picture. Ask yourself:

- Do I have the experience to do this?

- Do I possess the abilities and or the time for this?

- What or who do I have at my disposal to help me accomplish this?

Timely:

All goals should have a time frame associated with them. Without a deadline or time frame, where would your sense or urgency or accomplishment be? You cannot say that you wish to lose twenty pounds without a date to measure and attain success. Be firm, but again realistic, when it comes to setting up a time frame for your goals. You cannot lose twenty pounds in a few days or weeks--not naturally, anyway--but it is much more realistic to work towards losing twenty pounds by February 1^st.

To conclude, setting up goals is just as important as working through them. Understanding the change you want to make and conforming to the SMART goals technique will certainly aid you in accomplishing your goals. With the right plan, you can develop the right attitudes, skills, and capacity to reach any and all goals you set out for yourself.

To learn more about SMART goals and how to plan them, visit the articles: "SMART Goals," and "SMART goals - YourCoach."