Smart Goals
Are you familiar with smart goals? There are literally volumes of articles and books written about SMART Goals , the varying methods, techniques, and goal setting strategies in personal goal setting, and its application for your personal use both on-line and off-line.
I am not going to insult your intelligence and bore you in explaining to you something you already know about.
** You can laugh at money worries if you follow this simple plan **
However, after 10 plus years in coaching and mentoring organizations and individuals in their respective goal setting pursuits, I have observed than many people will never complete their respective goal setting objectives, and will end their goal setting pursuits in dismal with failures, unless you approach goal setting with the proper positive attitude , positive thinking , and self discipline , if you want to know how to succeed in life.
Understanding ICPRA Before You Can Begin Your Goal Setting Quest…
First you need to understand the Acronym: ICPRA : ( Idealize, Conceptualize, Prioritize, Realize, Actualize)
Although, not new in terms of definitions-their application is new when discussing goal setting and smart goals in general. You need to have the creative visualization , in order to be able to see your goals come to fruition.
I developed the ICPRA acronym from my 10 years+ of professional goal setting experience for both corporate entities as well as for personal goal setting for individuals.
Idealize : This is the first phase where the light bulb in your brain goes on, and you start to think out some things, some ideas as it pertains to your personal goal setting. You’ve got to make the mental jump first-so this is the first step in the goal-setting process, where your positive thinking comes into play .
Conceptualize -This is the second phase, whereby you start to conceptualize specific possible goals for yourself, whereby you start to conceptualize and really think through specific possible goals for yourself or others. You start to ask yourself questions such You start to ask yourself questions such as:
What are your short term and long term career goals in life.
What are your business goals?
What are your entrepreneurship goals?
What are your self improvement goals?
What are your money management goals?
What are your retirement planning goals?
** You can laugh at money worries if you follow this simple plan **
Prioritize: This is the critical third phase where you start to rank and evaluate your goals based up what’s most important to you; also you start to spell out short term goals vs. long term goals.
This may take weeks or even months-everyone is different in this stage. There is not a “cookie-cutter” approach one size fits all. As we are all different human beings, it is only logical that we all require a different road map in charting our personal goal setting and career goal paths in life.
Realize: This is the fourth phase in that you must have the hope and faith , to believe in God and in yourself to see through fruition-your personal goals you have identified in achieving. You must believe in God, and in your abilities before you can conceive it as reality and act upon your goal setting action plan.
This is so critically important. You also need to develop a positive attitude, and have the self motivation to see your goals and objectives become reality in your life.
Actualize: Finally you’re here! You’ve made it, you’ve come a long way-but this is where you actually see the fruit of your hard labor. You get to see and experience the progress that you’ve made. Sure they may be small baby steps-but any step in the right direction is the way you want to go.
Remember-Life is not a Race-its a Marathon. You must always keep this thought in your forefront of your Brain at all times.
Now…Let’s Discuss SMART Goals
The Acronym (SMART) stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timeline) Nothing fancy dancy here, just straight forward sequential logic when defining SMART Goals.
Specific -Your goal has to be specific. Idealizing “world peace” for example would be a stretch –making a point to say hello to every person you meet would be a start.
Measurable -How can you your goal be measured? If your goal is to drop 30 pounds within the next 3 months, you can develop a plan of action that can be quantified as the pounds drop off
Attainable – Your goal must be attainable or achievable. Why create a goal you can never reach?
Realistic -Your goal must be realistic. If you set out to drop 50 pounds in the next month may not be doable-but if you shoot for 15 pounds you have set a more realistic goal, and you can increase your goal objectives after success is gained
Timeline -Develop a realistic timeline by which your goals can be reached and achieved and continue to adjust as small milestones in your goal setting are accomplished
Click here on this link for your free SMART Goal Work Sheet
But smart goals are meaningless unless you put your ideas into action.
Goals without action, will lead to failures in your life every time.
You just need to develop the self confidence and the self discipline , and to have the hope and faith in God and in your God given abilities in moving forward with your dreams in life.
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